An interesting programme of events marked World AIDS Day on the Rhodes campus this year, with the focus shifting to the context of health and wellness and resonating with the 2010 international theme of “Universal Access and Human Rights”.
As the mellow sounds of blues band SunshiP drew staff to the Drostdy Lawns, the Peer Supporters handed out their information brochures, and copies of the new Grahamstown Health, Wellness and Social Services Handbook were distributed.
Proceedings were formally opened by the Vice-Chancellor Dr Saleem Badat, who spoke about the importance of giving ongoing attention to HIV and AIDS in a society where the scourge of the HI virus still wreaks havoc and in a country that is at the heart of the pandemic. “We should be celebrating our hard-fought freedom and democracy, not dying early deaths and attending funerals every week-end.”
Dr Badat emphasised that this occasion was about renewing Rhodes’s commitment to limiting new infections among students and staff, supporting those living with HIV or AIDS, celebrating those that have proclaimed their status and are approaching it in a positive way, and recognising the important role players that have addressed the issue, such as the Treatment Action Campaign nationally and SHARC and the Raphael Centre locally.
Linking in with the theme of human rights, Dr Badat also reflected on the need for people to make choices that cherish, respect and honour their lives and the lives of others. “Perhaps it is the lack of self-respect and self-esteem that is leading to the abuse of others,” he said.
This year, the HR Division has begun implementing programmes to promote the health and well-being of staff members at Rhodes. Recognising that these are not issues that exist in isolation of families and the greater community, one of the initiatives has been a collaboration with local NGOs to produce an updated and expanded guide on support services available in Grahamstown. Dr Badat, in officially launching the publication, said, “We hope the booklet will be used by our staff and residents of our town.”
Peer Supporter, Lethu Mbube, next addressed the gathering and outlined the origin of the Peer Supporters Group, the role they play and how they themselves are trained and supported by Rhodes.
The programme culminated with an outstanding performance by UBOM! Entitled ‘Hush’, it was the result of a work-shopping process with a number of different divisions at Rhodes, and managed to touch on a wide range of relevant issues, such as gender relations, judgement and discrimination, blame, stigma and fear, multiple partners, testing, etc. Done in an entertaining yet hard-hitting way, audience reaction showed that the group had clearly captured some very real situations close to home, while conveying important messages and ultimately pointing to the fact that individual human beings are at the heart of the matter.
Other initiatives marking World AIDS Day on campus included a “Positive Living” photo exhibition in the Rhodes Library and readings from literary texts featuring AIDS in the English Department.