Use SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
TitleUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
Body
ExpiresUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
  

​The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV, STIs and TB has been finalised. 


To download the summary or full documents, please visit the SANAC website here​. 

  

First Things First, a newly launched HIV counselling and testing campaign, aims to encourage at least 15 million South Africans, particularly first-year students in tertiary education to get tested for HIV and know their status – with an added incentive. Those who are tested stand in line to drive home a sporty Toyota Yaris Zen.

photo.JPG

HEAIDS,   in   partnership   with   the   Department   of   Higher   Education   and   Training,   the   Department   of   Health,   Innovative   Medicines   South   Africa   (IMSA),   the   Foundation   for   Professional   Development   (FPD),   United   States   Agency   for   International   Development   (USAID),PEPFAR)   and   the   South   African   National   AIDS  Council   (SANAC)   will   be   rolling   out   the   First Things First  HIV  Counseling  and  Testing  (HCT)  campaign  at  public  Higher  Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  from  early  2012. The  campaign  aims  to  mobilize  students  and  staff  at  HEIs  across  South  Africa  to  know  their  HIV  status,  stop  HIV  stigma  and  fight  the  HIV   pandemic.  The  campaign  is  aimed  for  roll-­‐out  to  all  campuses  at  all  public  Higher  Education  Institutions,  and  aims  to  test  at  least  35,000   people  from  all  sections  of  the  Higher  Education  community,  including  students,  academics  and  service  and  administrative  staff.     ​​​


For more information on the First Things First campaign, please visit the website​. 

  

Robin Opperman of Umcebo Designs has moved into a studio in Bulwer Road and is producing stunning works of art.

Robin  Opperman of Umcebo Designs has taken over Bulwer Road and is starting a revolution for artists and crafters in  KZN in his multi-purpose studio whilst preparing something special for the Design Indaba 2012.


Opperman is one of South Africa’s most creative art makers. He is known for his innovative use of recycled objects in his art works. He has relocated his studio to a space on Bulwer Road where, together with creative partner Ujala ‘Jackie’ Sewpersad, he is collaborating and creating works of art that are truly unique to KZN.

"His studio is buzzing with activity, quite literally as one of the projects on the go involve creating a family of yellow and black larger-than-life beaded bees," said Illa Thompson, a close friend of Opperman’s.  "We have a wealth of talent in KZN and the crafters in this area have been commissioned to work on the bees as one of my projects," said Opperman.

"This studio has allowed me to become something of ’a naked artist,’ (with reference to Jamie Oliver’s Naked Chef). We have many collaborations on the go. We are working on ‘The Paradise Project,’  with the Refugee Social Services at the Diakonia Council of Churches centre every Wednesday where we create tapestries made from recycled material. We also teach fine art and PR students through the DUT work integrated learning programme," he said.
 
He is also working on art projects  in partnership with Ukhamba crafters in Hammarsdale.  "The aim is firstly to create art. I also want to give students the opportunity to come here, learn, network and hopefully start a business of their own. Many people think  you need a huge amount of money and material to start a business, this is not entirely true. You can become self-sustaining if you have a passion for what you are doing, put in the effort and use your imagination."

Opperman is also creating pieces for the Design Indaba where he will be exhibiting his unique artwork in Cape Town later this month. "It is so important to be creative and energised. This is what I love doing."

Visitors are encouraged to visit his studio, view his work, exchange ideas and find their own inspiration  to be creative. To book a visit, email robin@umcebodesign.co.za.


Republished from LookLocal Berea​

  

​AIDS, Intimacy and Care in Rural KwaZulu-Natal: A Kinship of Bones​ by ​​Patricia Henderson (University of Amsterdam Press 2011) will be launched in South Africa soon.

Date: Thursday, 01 March
Time: 17h30 for 18h00
Venue: Ike's Books and Collectables, 48A Florida Road
Guest Speakers: Professor Eleanor Preston-Whyte and Dr Bernhard Gaede
RSVP: cedric@adamsbooks.co.za or 082 873 2702 

In 2003-2006, Patricia Henderson lived in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal where she recorded the experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS. In this illuminating study, she recounts the concerns of rural people and explores local repertoires through which illness was folded into everyday life.


The book spans a period when antiretroviral medication was not available, and moves on to a time when the treatment became accessible. Hope gradually became manifest in the recovery of a number of people through antiretroviral therapies and ‘the return’ of bodies they could recognise as their own. This research implies that protracted interaction with people over time, offers insights into the unfolding textures of everyday life, in particular in its focus on suffering, social and structural inequality, illness, violence, mourning, sensibility, care and intimacy.

Ms Henderson wrote this book in collaboration with The Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN). 

​Some reviews and endorsements:


Veena Das, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University 

The World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development (2012) notes that adult mortality rates doubled between 1980 and 2000 in sub Saharan Africa and that a large part of this increase is attributable to HIV/AIDS. Patricia Henderson’s book takes us to such landscapes of disease and devastation and shows us what it means for ordinary people to be living in these conditions, providing care when the state fails them; how hope raises its head when some access to retroviral drug therapy becomes available and bodies can be reclaimed; and how both life and death are woven into the fabric of social relations. Henderson is theoretically erudite but she does not let philosophical words overwrite those of her respondents, showing what anthropological fidelity means to the fields we cultivate in the practice of anthropology.


Professor Jean-Pierre Warnier, African Studies Centre, Paris:

In a most personal and ethically informed narrative, Patricia Henderson develops, as it were, a carnal anthropology of the decaying and dying body of HIV/AIDS patients that may trigger love and care, as well as stress and rejection. Her work will be of immense benefit to all those medics, social workers, and home-based care organisations confronted with this vertiginous condition.

Fiona Ross Associate Professor, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town: 

There is remarkably little in the literature on the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa about practices of care and relationship. It is as though the disease renders social life impossible to think. Henderson’s beautiful work is an exception.  In her careful account, she shows how the social is constituted through aesthetic, emotional and embodied relationships of mutuality, and the world re-made in the face of grief and loss. The book is essential reading for all who would understand how ordinary worlds are crafted in the face of massive illness. Written in the interface between anthropology and philosophy, the book asks us to envisage the making of sociality in a world overwritten by technicist interpretations of life and death. 


BOOK LAUNCH Durban Feb 2012.jpg


  

​In 2011, Facebook launched a new suicide prevention tool, giving users a direct link to online help from counsellors. "The safety of the people who use Facebook is of paramount importance to us, and we hope that by partnering with safety organisations around the world we can best provide the help our users need," says Facebook International Communications Director Debbie Frost.

“Friends who are concerned about a loved one are able to report suicidal behaviour by clicking the report links next to any piece of content on the site and choosing suicidal content under the harmful behaviour option,” says Facebook spokesman Frederic Wolens. “Facebook then emails the user in distress with resources and information about the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) - for users in South Africa.” This service is now open to South African Facebook users with links to the SADAG website, and toll-free crisis line (0800 567 567).


Social media is the way millions of people connect and reach out to each other. Every day, people across the world log on to Facebook, update their statuses, upload their latest pictures and stories – and often seek help and advice. More than 800 million people worldwide use Facebook. Suicide is a growing problem globally and an increasing number of people are turning to their Facebook friends for help.


Facebook has responded to this need with the creation of the dedicated suicide prevention escalation channels, which connect users to crisis intervention and counselling services, and provide tips on identifying a suicidal friend and how to get them help. Now, South Africa’s leading mental health NGO has joined the cyberspace cause to prevent suicide. "By partnering with SADAG we can help those in need when they are most at risk. This partnership will undoubtedly make our reporting system, with its over 800 million members, even more effective," says Facebook's Debbie Frost.


The new tool gives people who may not be comfortable initially picking up the phone, a direct avenue to seek help. Worried friends who report the distraught postings on Facebook can trigger an alert that encourages a user to call a counsellor. They will also receive a message to say it is being addressed. Facebook users can also use the social media site to find a suicide hotline, as well as resources for identifying and helping a friend who may be suicidal. 


All reporting on the site is done anonymously and so a distressed user won’t know who reported the suicidal content. “If a user comes across potentially suicidal content on the site, they can report this to us through our "Report Suicidal Content" contact form or by using the "Report" link that appears near the content itself. From there, we review the content, message the potentially suicidal user with the relevant suicide prevention agency's information (in South Africa, this will be SADAG), and escalate to the relevant agency," says Facebook’s Erin Kennedy. These reports are considered high priority and are monitored 7 days a week.


SADAG, which runs South Africa’s only toll-free suicide crisis line, also has a Facebook​ page and a very busy website. They know how great the need is for online help. “People who are feeling like there is no hope or feeling suicidal may go online for help first,” says SADAG’s founder Zane Wilson. “Being part of the Suicide Prevention Agency network means that people needing someone to talk to can connect with us very quickly.” “We know how important it is to be available very swiftly and that suicidal feelings aren't only experienced during office hours,” says Wilson. Currently, SADAG's call centre closes at 8pm,with emergency numbers available thereafter.


Suicide rates in South Africa are on the increase, with an estimated 23 people committing suicide daily and about 230 attempted suicides every day, according to leading suicidologist Professor Lourens Schlebusch. “Depression is still a ‘taboo’ subject and people who are suffering from depression or who feel isolated and alone, often struggle to admit how they’re feeling or ask for help because of fear of how others will treat them.” Says Wilson. SADAG feels this initiative will have a great impact on getting assistance to people in distress. “People often don’t know how to cope or where to turn for help,” says Wilson. “Being able to have nationwide access to our counsellors and to receive speedy help for you, a friend or even a stranger who is in distress on Facebook will greatly contribute to decreasing the number of suicide attempts in South Africa.”


With more and more reported cases of suicide intentions aired online, it’s time we turn to cyberspace for critical prevention. Social media is a very powerful force in providing an outlet and support for people in crisis. “We have to work together to provide information and resources to people in crisis,” says Wilson. “That’s why being part of the Facebook initiative is so valuable.” People who are thinking about suicide and let their intention be known online are reaching out for help. Let them know you care, that you don’t judge their thoughts or emotions, and be patient - take the time to listen.

 

For more information, please contact Zane via email zane1@hargray.com or Cassey on 011 262 6396.
1 - 5Next

 

​