Frontliners
Archive ID: 2009_sat_frontliners_editedThis is a documentary about community networks in Southern Africa focusing on educating people about HIV prevention and providing support and care for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Background material
"This film is highly unusal and somewhat unique in that it depicts very small scale HIV projects on the deep countryside in the four countries Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In these places the HIV prevention was effectively at work. I was especially impressed by Mcbin Banda, who I see as a real strong leader of the Mitsinge group of people living with HIV. He urged his fellows in the group to be proud and not ashamed. He is a true local leader. People like him, has changed the course of the AIDS epidemic. I was also very impressed by the youth drama, which the teenagers wrote and performed themselves." - Staffan Hildebrand
Transcription
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SINGING]
The first stages of a person living with HIV and AIDS
who just starts medication-
This is the time when these people need encouragement-
Some people, if left alone, will even abandon the medication
altogether-
But then, if we are there to give assistance or care,
these people will continue with their medication-
Twafwane Community Care, is involved in home based care-
It has also a program in orphans and vulnerable children
support-
It's also involved in care and treatment-
1, 2, 4, 5-
Malawi FAST is a group is a [INAUDIBLE] support group-
We are 78 adults and 106 children-
It was very, very difficult to start a group
of people living with HIV/AIDS-
Especially a support group, which was coming,
which would come out open, and tell the people their status-
The stigma and discrimination was so strong
that it was not easy to come out openly-
Little by little a group was set-
And it was a group of two, three, four people only-
Secretly, other people would come and join them
and the group grew-
The significance of having an increased number of people
joining this group, shows that the stigma and the discrimation
is going down-
And let me tell you that the antiretroviral therapy has
helped in terms of reducing stigma-
The provision of antiretroviral drugs,
which is now free, and the global funds, in this area,
helped the group to grow-
I'm very optimistic-
What you are looking for is a generation
that is able to participate and see for themselves that it
can prevent new infections-
[MUSIC PLAYING]
My name is Fadzia Muparutsa, I'm the program manager
for gender at the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe-
Right now we have about 350 members-
We work with people who are 18 and over-
People who come actively into the organization
and seek our services-
We don't go out and provide our services
to people who don't want them-
One of the things we work on is providing
antiretroviral treatment to members of the organization who
are HIV positive-
This is the GALZ publication-
This is a quarterly publication-
And then we have a monthly publication as well-
For people to say what they say, to react how they react,
is because they don't have information-
And as an organization we're trying
to ensure that we're putting out as much information
as we possibly can on gay and lesbian lives and issues-
For the past two years, we've been
working on a publication that's called, Unspoken Fact-
Where we have gone into the history of homosexuality,
not just in Zimbabwe, but in most African countries-
And found that cases of homosexuality
have been there in the past-
Before colonization came in-
Which then disputes the issue of homosexuality being
a Western import for Africans-
What has changed though, when it comes to homosexuality,
was that when colonization took place and laws were enacted
that were then brought in by the Western countries,
that's when homosexuality became criminalized
in most African countries-
Not the other way around-
[SINGING]
Ntengwe for community development
is a community based organization-
And implementing community based programs
which includes HIV and AIDS programs, livelihood programs,
rights based programs, that includes property
and inheritance program-
It's what we are doing as an organization is awareness
raising through media which is the films
or through community based workshops-
[SINGING]
Tapegwa is a role model, especially
in the peer education that she is conducting with the youth-
They are conducting programs like using the guides
like the bridges of hope, where they
talk about obstacles that may hinder them
to go to the success island-
More of the activism in Kindlhimuka and one of them
is the income generating activities and food
[INAUDIBLE]-
We have a castling and home based care, we have prevention,
we have advocacy, and we have a program
to support orphaned children-
In this room, we're doing school uniforms
for [INAUDIBLE] children to contribute
for income for Kindlhimuka-
Why did we start with this program?
It's to support our self and our families-
And also help the farmer-
Is also contribute in the income generating
program and food [INAUDIBLE]-
It's important for us to strengthen us
as people living with AIDS-
And also by doing the income, it contributes
for this sustainability for the organization-
As well for those people who are needy-
My dream for the future is that, I
would like to see a Mozambique without HIV-
Without stigma-
Or for those who are infected, all of them getting treatment-
That's my dream for Mozambique-
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SINGING]
Here, we do some inactive [INAUDIBLE]
many do group therapy-
These are the children gathered together-
Some are orphans, and some are vulnerable, and some of them
are HIV positive-
We teach them about HIV and AIDS and human rights-
From now, the prevalence is going down-
Even the death is now going down-
The stigma now is not very high-
It's just in the middle-
Because Mtisunge organization, we
do some more awareness campaigns, HIV education-
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
[CHEERING]
[SINGING]