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Impressions of a visit to South Africa : HIVAN ? Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking
by
Helen Gertz
 I stayed in Durban, South Africa for four months, from November 2005 until March 2006, together with my partner, who worked as a medical exchange student at the King Edward VIII Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Being a German-South African - my mother originally came from the rural region of the Transkei and emigrated to Germany as a political refugee and anti-Apartheid activist more than 40 years ago - I always had plans to stay in South Africa for a longer period of time in order to learn more about the history and current situation of the country. I was therefore very glad of having the chance to come to Durban, as I was in the transformation phase between the completion of my studies and embarking on a search for formal employment.
With my personal background and my study interests in the fields of Southern African literature, cultural studies and international politics, I was hoping to find an entry point to the political and social situation in South Africa in a way that would be more comprehensive than a mere tourist would experience while rushing from one site and natural wonder to another.
After a brief period of settling and exploring the country during the summer holidays, I tried to find a civil society organisation to work for, ideally a South African organisation, that was contributing to different areas of social engagement, fighting against discrimination and poverty, and engaged in the work of HIV/AIDS awareness projects. While tracking current debates and social issues in the media, I perceived the complexity and interdependence of many of those topics. Accordingly, I wanted to gain more knowledge about the position of civil society organisations which are engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the surrounding stigma, affecting the already poverty-stricken rural communities as well as the urban areas.
Finding HIVAN
The Internet was my main source of information for access to interesting civil society organisations, and via the very useful website and search tool of ?SangoNet? (a listing of all the relevant South African NGO?s, CBO?s and FBO?s), I found the website of HIVAN - Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking - based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. I was immediately impressed by HIVAN?s website, which provides a detailed and comprehensive overview over relevant developments around HIV/AIDS research and networking activities by posting articles and presenting projects. Moreover, the website provides access to an extensive on-line database, listing numerous organisations and initiatives with HIV-related projects, mainly from KwaZulu-Natal, which is the most affected province in South Africa.
Altogether, HIVAN?s objective of offering a network for HIV/AIDS-related clinical, ethnographic and social research in KwaZulu-Natal is very coherently presented through the website. Complementary to its research focus, exceptional arts-based projects and workshops are introduced, presenting cultural conceptions on HIV/AIDS.
My interest was especially drawn by the overall concept by which HIVAN facilitates contacts and co-operation between public and private non-governmental organisations and community-based initiatives ? and the ways in which research and practical work within community-based projects are brought together. It was my impression that the networking concept seems to be absolutely necessary and groundbreaking, as there are so many capable organisations and initiatives in the province which can link their resources and activities accordingly.
Starting to work - The Archive
I got into contactwith Project Manager, Debbie Heustice, and Media and Publications Consultant, Judith King, from the Communications, Arts and Advocacy Unit at HIVAN, who both introduced me to the staff at the office on Howard Campus, University of KZN. I was impressedby the open and friendly atmosphere at the office as well as by the wonderful tropical surroundings at the University, and I received an interesting overview on HIVAN?s various activities from Debbie Heustice and Judith King during this meeting. We discussed the possibilities of me participating as a volunteer in order to get insight into HIVAN?s work, and it became clear that there was the opportunity to help and support the Media team with the organisation, structuring and sorting of their Print-media Archive, apart from other tasks.
The Archive is managed by HIVAN?s Media Office as an information store, which collects, cross-references and indexes media cuttings about HIV/AIDS and related issues in South Africa throughout the last five years.Altogether, the articles collected give a comprehensive, valuable time-frame of the recent and extended history of HIV/AIDS in KZN and in South Africa. Some of these articles cover controversial topics which have been broadly discussed in the public and in research circles. With the help of the Archive, it is possible to follow current national and international debates about the epidemic. In its condensed form of offering broad information, the Archive, initiated by Judith King, presents a useful research tool for individuals, academic institutions and organisations.
While working on the Archive, by structuring, sorting and organising the amount of printed media scans and cuttings from the last years, I was able to dive into several of the latest and current HIV/AIDS-related issues which concern the Government, the public and research bodies alike. For example, the case of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) against the Rath Foundation in 2005 highlights the dispute between supporters of anti-retroviral treatment and those who are convinced that ARVs are dangerous. This relates to the ongoing, and often antagonistic, national discourse on the opposition between ARVs and natural remedies, which comes up at regular intervals.
During my time at HIVAN, I learned much about the complexity of such topics, and how they affect public opinion and government responses in South Africa. I can say that my view on ?HIV/AIDS in South Africa? and on the inter-relatedness of local, national and global discourses concerning HIV/AIDS has been broadened and textured.
Moreover, I was very fortunate to work in the Media office together with Judith, who gave me such detailed insight into HIV/AIDS-related topics, sharing her precious time in which we had many interesting conversations about various political and social realities in South Africa. Additionally, I learned about her important work of leading the Media and Publications Programme, which covers functions such as issuing press releases and editorials, distributing relevant information on HIV/AIDS and reporting on important events, seminars and workshops in the province and nationwide. This includes publishing the dual-language quarterly community newsletter ?Sondela?, which shares information and highlights networking activities among the rural and urban communities. These stories and articles - originated, sourced and compiled by Judith as the Editor - cast a special light on the outstanding positive contributions that people in diverse communities make in order to mitigate the isolation, poverty and despair that HIV/AIDS spreads among their fellows. I assisted in the packing and distribution of 4 500 units of the January 2006 edition newsletter, which is issued free of charge.
I really enjoyed the working atmosphere at HIVAN. My colleagues gave me such a warm welcome and were always there to inform me about HIVAN?s various projects and research, and to share their working day with me. Together, they taught me much about South Africa, about its complicated history and complex current situation. Moreover, I was very impressed by the commitment of my colleagues and their involvement in helping South Africa change for better and tackle the stigma around HIV/AiDS.
Invitation to Bergville/Phumzile Ndlovu: Home-Based Care
 In the meantime, not only through my partner?s experiences at the King Edward hospital, I learned that hospitals and clinics throughout the country struggle to care for their numerous patients because there is a severe shortage of staff and the need of even basic health services. This lack of staff and services affects, for example, the provision and monitoring of ARV roll-out throughout the country. These problems, exacerbated by inadequate infrastructures, are especially visible in the remote rural areas.
In this context, my partner and I had the chance to visit a beautiful mountainous area, around Bergville, and to meet Phumzile Ndlovu, the Co-ordinator of HIVAN?s uThukela Home-Based Care Intervention Programme and researcher of home-based care in the region. Phumzile had invited us to stay a few days with her, to be introduced to different projects and to observe the difficult conditions people live in but also to perceive the humanity, courage and voluntary care shown by those same people so deeply committed to their fellows.
We were impressed and deeply moved by the generosity and warmth of the people we met, and we saw the degree of impact that Phumzile?s organisational and co-ordinating work was having in their lives. Above all, her amazing personality has a profound influence on the process of the home-based care projects and on youth initiatives in the Bergville region. She and her fellow caregivers are very successful in bringing together local NGO initiatives and government structures in order to fight the epidemic and try to alleviate its effects on the local, mainly poor households.
One of my impressions was that Phumzile Ndlovu has achieved so much and gained such overall respect amongst the youth and the elders in the communities, because in her sensitive but straightforward way, she not only listens to people but takes their problems forward, being a member of the community. Above all, her ways of overcoming the stigma around HIV/AIDS and to providing information and assistance for the people in the community are remarkable. Wherever we went together, she was greeted by people in the streets who would often tell her about their personal situations and ask her for advice.
 On my first day in Bergville, I went with Phumzile, and Debbie Heustice, Eliza Moodley and Bren Brophy of HIVAN?s Communications, Arts and Advocacy Unit, to visit a local community. Here, with the urged by Phumzile and HIVAN?s offices, teachers and parents had established a Community Centre for the youth, offering a cr?che and a furnished classroom for the younger children in the community. On that day, the centre was presented and opened by the spokespersons and elders. The whole community, especially grandmothers and mothers, came together to celebrate the event, which was accompanied by the donation of presents for the younger children, collected at HIVAN?s Christmas bazaar.
Eliza and Bren (HIVAN?s Cultural Arts Project team) were preparing to hold a workshop in the Community Centre, through which they planned to involve and empower the children in art-making and other expressive tools in the context of HIV/AIDS. In the course of the event, they were introduced to some of the youngsters who were scheduled to take part in the workshop. For me, the atmosphere on that day was very special, as I could witness how everyone in the community shared and cared for each other, in the sense of a basic understanding. Young and old stood together, and it was very emotional to see the youngest, often sick-looking children (many of them being orphans), who are mainly taken care of by the elderly women of the community, playing with the toys they had been given,and gaining confidence. We as visitors were embraced by all community members, and were treated to their songs of praise and acclamations.
Support Group
One of the most moving experiences during this stay in Bergville for me was the visit with a support group of HIV-positive widows and women who were holding their regular meeting at the homestead of one of the home-based carers. Most of the rather middle-aged women had lost their husbands to HIV/AIDS and were now struggling to cope with everyday life. Within the support group, they were able to communicate and exchange their experiences with the others, without fear or stigma.
Phumzile took notes in her capacity as an ethnographic researcher, while the women were openly talking about their health problems and their daily lives. While they were talking about their health problems, it became clear that only a few of them had access to ARV treatment, but that the few of them who were receiving ARVs could claim far better health than those who were not. The general lack of sufficient medical resources and money to pay for the medication became apparent.
Furthermore, the women mentioned the inadequate infrastructures and bad transport systems in the area, on which they depend in order to get to the nearest clinic. Apart from that, most of the women do not have enough money to pay for the transport. Not even all of the clinics and hospitals can dispense sufficient ARVs to distribute them among all the patients in the region who need them, although a few more facilities which offer ARV treatment were set up during the last months.
Additionally, the harsh weather conditions in the area often lead to blocked roads and flooded bridges during heavy rainfalls, so that it is sometimes impossible for the caregivers to reach their patients and families in their homes. I found the atmosphere in the group overwhelmingly hopeful, as the women gave each other understanding, mutual support and strength in facing this deadly illness. I felt that these meetings could not only help to overcome the stigma around HIV/AIDS within a small group, but could also help to have an impact in larger circles over time, as the women form the backbones of these communities.
At the end of our visit, Phumzile made sure that we took a ?deep breath?, by marvelling at the stunning scenery of the Drakensberg mountains and waterfalls around Bergville on our little trip to the famous Amphitheatre, within the higher regions of the Northern Berg.
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Conclusion
On the whole, I found the opportunity to work for an organisation like HIVAN an experience enlarged and enriched my perspective on the social and political situation in South Africa. It brought me into contact with many different people from different backgrounds. Looking back, I was given access to an overview of different aspects of HIV/AIDS on a larger scale, by reading, reviewing and discussing these issues in the right place. Moreover, I learned about the work of a non-governmental organisation and was able to accompany the persistent work and input of its employees. To experience the work of HIVAN?s Communications, Arts and Advocacy Unit, and in particular the Media Programme, was very helpful in this respect, as it identifies and communicates important developments in the field of HIV/AIDS within the South African society and its numerous components and efforts.
I would also like to highlight the work of the Cultural Arts team at HIVAN, which was very active in preparing workshops and seminars for self-expression around HIV/AIDS by means of art-making and body-mapping methods. Through them, I observed the role of the cultural arts in addressing HIV/AIDS in various ways and their role in helping, for example, children and young people to deal with evolving questions around the epidemic.
All in all, I still feel that I need to learn more about the historical legacy and current social and political situation in South Africa, so as to understand some of the processes and developments in the country in a larger context. In this respect, though from the distance, I hope to continue with my own socio-cultural research activities on South African issues by focusing on the huge topic of male roles in South Africa, with respect to the ?loss of manhood? in the traditional sense, and regarding male relations with women and children in South Africa today. This would also take into account the situation of families in the context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and children?s experience of fatherhood in a broader sense.
I would like to thank my colleagues at HIVAN for the wonderful time I spent with them, and for those important experiences they facilitated for me. I wish them strength and all the best for their ongoing work.
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