The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Colette Francis -
Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky, the multi-award winning feature film currently on at cinemas nationwide, is the story of two orphans from rural Kwazulu-Natal who journey to the city and are caught up in the underworld of street children and prostitution.
People are saying that this is South Africa’s Slumdog Millionaire, but I don’t think so. Madoda Ncayiyana’s feature film debut is closer in timbre to the work of Guillermo Del Torro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth and other...
Prof. Hoosen Coovadia commends the scale of HIV funding by 80-odd international funding organisations that have provided support for the pandemic, but argues that we need a much stronger effort. He laments the fact that funding initiatives force South Africans (and others) to make difficult choices because of the way funding streams are defined.
Dermot Peterson, a youth leader from the town of Atlantis in the Western Cape talks about a community initiative aimed at raising awareness about HIV and AIDS amongst children and teenagers. High levels of poverty and unemployment plague the residents of Atlantis, where many of the young are sexually active. This youth programme employs creative methods to take its message to the children, hoping to instill a more responsible attitude towards sexual activity.
Members of an HIV support group in Khayelitsha talk about the challenges and successes of living with HIV. Members argue that "the stigma of AIDS" is still a huge problem that must be overcome. Highlighting the tragic circumstances of poverty, members report that some people deliberately drop their CD4 count to become eligible for the state's disability grant, valued at R940 per month (about US$120). See part two of the report here.
