Community in action: Ottawa KZN pulls together

The Ottawa/Parkgate community, situated on KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast, is a very small one. On World AIDS Day, its residents and representatives from a range of sectors joined together to mobilise around HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, and a small team from HIVAN participated in the first such event of its kind in the area. By all accounts, it was an exemplary day, with groups from the private sector, the arts, as well as local schools, NGOs and CBOs taking part. The guest speaker was Dr Atom Dilraj from the MRC in Durban.

Formal sponsorship for the day's events was provided by, amongst others, Marmic, Alpha Readymix, Red Scrap Metal, Globes Shopping Complex, and Stylish Hardware. At the grassroots level, Andisha Maharaj (HIVAN's Central Admin Officer) had earlier distributed flyers to residents in the Ottawa/Parkgate area, requesting their support and appealing to each household to donate at least one non-perishable food item. The response was overwhelmingly heartwarming. "I was reduced to tears," said Andisha, "and I'll certainly be making every personal effort I can to sustain this as a community project." The food donations were distributed to Verulam Child Welfare, the Ithembelihle/Hopewell Drop-in Centre and amongst needy families in and around Ottawa.

The Ithembelihle/Hopewell Drop-In Centre is a newly formed organisation based in the Palmview area of Phoenix. Audrey Sosibo, a retired school teacher, heads the Centre, which caters for children who live on the streets and in the nearby forests, rummaging in rubbish-bins for food. At times, her shelter takes in as many as 40 children, but the Centre is severely under-resourced in terms of adequate accommodation, furniture and children's books, food, crockery and cutlery, cooking equipment, clothing, soap, towels and toys.

Throughout the AIDS Awareness Day, vibrant and multi-cultural live entertainment was provided by UmAfrika, a group of local Kwaito dancers including a novice rap-artist who sang a song about AIDS. UmAfrika also performs gospel music, traditional Zulu and Hare Krishna dances and dramatic displays to raise anti-crime and HIV/AIDS awareness. They are funded in part by eThekwini Municipality, and headed by Themba Gwala. At the Ottawa function, Themba's group performed dance pieces to the sound of a traditional drum.

Manned by Andisha Maharaj and HIVAN's Assistant Project Manager, Hemlata Morar, the HIVAN table served as a stand for resource material, issuing its "Sondela - Come Closer" community newsletter, NAPWA's "Informer" magazine, general HIV/AIDS information pamphlets, and the like. "The material was eagerly received," reports Andisha, "not only by schoolchildren but also by adults from the local community. We distributed free condoms, which vanished from the table very quickly."

The afternoon session featured the official opening of an AIDS Memorial Garden, sponsored by the eThekwini Municipality's Verulam Office, and a placard display, which was supported by community elders as well as the youth. "The display was very exciting," said Andisha, "The energy created by UmAfrika's wonderful drumming, along with the enthusiastic hooting from motorists passing in both directions at peak hour, really raised our activist spirits and the exhilarating atmosphere will not be forgotten soon by the participants."

Dr Dilraj's talk focused on motivating the Indian community to participate in the HIV vaccine trials, and his interactive style of communication, which involved a "question-and-answer" engagement with the audience, culminated in the award of MRC-sponsored vaccine-awareness T-shirts to respondents. Dr Dilraj took the step of wearing his red AIDS ribbon upside-down so as to symbolise the 'V' of the word "vaccine" and in so doing raise awareness of positive progress in this regard.

Regrettably, no representatives from the local clinics or the KZN Department of Health attended, but it is hoped that as future initiatives develop within and around the Ottawa/Parkgate community, such partnerships can be forged.