Media Empowerment and HIV/AIDS  

Thobile Ndawonde was only 23 years old when doctors diagnosed her with HIV/AIDS. Her family, uneducated as to how the disease is contracted and fearful for their own health, isolated her in a small hut away from the family house and village and left her to die - unattended, alone and stigmatised by an illness that few in the region understood.

Today, Thobile's sad story is being used to educate others on the pain and unnecessary suffering caused by fear and lack of awareness. The aim of the media empowerment and HIV/AIDS stigma initiative - a joint venture between COL, the South African-based NGO Valley Trust and the World Health Organization (WHO ) - is to raise awareness concerning HIV/AIDS and stigma, the most serious symptom associated with a disease that has claimed the lives of more than 30 million people worldwide.

Although extremely weak and near death, Thobile wanted her story told.

Thanks to the intervention of WHO, COL and Valley Trust, Thobile did not die alone. Workers with Valley Trust took her to a hospital in Durban where she spent her last days speaking to project organisers and trainees about the painful events that brought her there.

Following an orientation training session on production and video camcorder techniques, Valley Trust trainees travelled to Thobile's rural village to interview her aunt, uncle and grandmother who confirmed that fear of contracting HIV/AIDS had goaded family and villagers to drive the young woman into isolation. Even after her admission to hospital, her clothes, mattress and blankets remained on the ground near the hut. The family refused to go near them.

Trainees then interviewed Thobile at McCord Hospital in Durban where, despite her rapidly deteriorating condition, she was able explain her plight and how villagers and her own father had disowned her, the latter telling her that he wanted her to die.

Trainees then located and interviewed the father on camera, who stated unequivocally that he did not want his daughter back nor would he attempt to see her owing to her condition. He appeared to possess no understanding of the disease or how it is transmitted. His daughter died soon after.

Unfortunately, Thobile's story is not unique. The number of new HIV/AIDS cases continues to skyrocket in Africa, in part owing to the ignorance and fear that cause far too many to refuse the HIV testing that could protect their loved ones. For those thousands who know they have the illness, far too many hide their condition fearing that their families and communities will reject them the way Thobile's nearest and dearest rejected her.

The initiative is designed to demonstrate the use of low-cost video production to:

• aid health workers isolated in rural areas with little access to information,

• lobby policy-makers and ensure that persons living with HIV/AIDS be treated the same as any other group facing health problems,

• share information and raise awareness regarding the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa and

• change existing legislation and regulations to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS be treated equally and with dignity.

Organisers believe this activity will enhance the valuable work undertaken by Valley Trust to fight HIV/AIDS stigma by effectively harnessing the power of mass media. It will enable Valley Trust to record, edit and disseminate information at the town and village level and both nationally and internationally at conferences and workshops. In addition, organisers hope it will provide a valuable model that can be adopted by other communities and governments struggling to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS stigma.

Following production, trainees were instructed in script development, filming, editing and the communication skills necessary to facilitate publicity, advocacy and outreach. The video was initially presented to a training group workshop for health workers. Other possible venues for delivery include the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the Internet.