We've just launched our brand new publication: Sondela (Come Closer), a 12-page community newsletter to be issued every quarter by the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN). Sondela will be distributed free-of-charge to 3 000 individuals and organisations in KwaZulu-Natal. It will be published in both isiZulu and English and will reach an even broader readership via our website.

In our first edition:

Social Grants Information

Source: Adapted from an article in The Independent on Saturday, 23 Feb 2002.

A social grant is funding one can receive from the government if one has limited or no sources of income and cannot pay for food and shelter. This money comes from a fund that the government supports through taxes and other sources. Certain rules apply to make sure that only those who genuinely need it will qualify for assistance.

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Ask the Experts

One of HIVAN's goals is to build bridges between the different sectors of society so as to increase opportunities for sharing information and imparting knowledge around HIV/AIDS. As HIVAN is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, our team has access to a range of expert resources, both within our own institution and from many others in the public and private sectors. In order to spread this knowledge, we will publish, in every edition of Sondela, your questions, together with some form of reply from a recognised professional practitioner or researcher. In this way, the question and its answer can be shared with many readers from different parts of the province who may also need the information. If your question is confidential, there is no need for you to provide your personal details. So, for advice on HIV/AIDS, ask the experts!

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Spotlight On...

In every issue of Sondela, we will feature a story on an ordinary KwaZulu-Natal community member who is doing extraordinary work in the struggle to reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There are many such people offering their unfailing support and care. In most cases, they give their time and energy purely for love. Such heroism cannot go unsung - so Sondela will sing loudly about it, one hero at a time! In this edition, we meet:

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Partnerships

This first issue of Sondela introduces HIVAN and its collaboration with the Behaviour Change Programme (BCP) Provincial Network that forms part of the wider KZN Community-Based Organisations (CBO) Network. The aim of this partnership is to work jointly in liaising with key roleplayers in the struggle against HIV/AIDS in the province, and to facilitate regional meetings involving local government, CBO and NGO representatives on key HIV/AIDS issues in communities.

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Come closer &

The team at HIVAN regards you, the reader, as a valuable asset in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. It is only through communicating with each other, forming partnerships and sharing information, skills and ideas that we can find answers to the many problems being faced every day by those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

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Useful Contacts

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission:

Ekuphileni Clinic (Cato Manor, Durban): This clinic houses a Mother-to-Child-Transmission (MTCT) programme as part of its antenatal service, with pre- and post-HIV test counselling and Nevirapine being provided to HIV-positive mothers. The programme also offers advice and training on infant feeding as well as an HIV counselling training course. An income generation project has also been started. Contact Ben Ntsikanye at the Clinic on 031 261 8943. The Clinic's postal address is 33 Bellair Road, Cato Manor, Durban 4001.

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