Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - July 02, 1999
Wonder Hlongwa
Situated between the South Coast and Natal Midlands, Highflats is one of the poorest and most marginalised rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal. It was once one of the apartheid regime's labour reservoirs. The people of this rural hinterland are still dependent on big cities like Pietermaritzburg and Durban for employment.
And with HIV infection spreading like wildfire in these cities, it has become dangerous for people who come from rural areas with absolutely no clue about what exactly Aids is.
It is this ignorance that motivated Nhlanhla Ngubo (22), the founder of Highflats's Ntuthuko Youth Club (NYC), to organise his peers to try and do something about the disease that took at least four of his friends' lives in January this year. According to Ngubo, almost half of NYC's 1 500 members are HIV-positive.
The National Association of People Living with Aids said between 58% and 62% of young people in the Port Shepstone area, in which Highflats falls, are testing positive.
The group wants to open a help centre in Highflats and train its own counsellors to spread the Aids awareness gospel. However, because of lack of resources and relevant training, the group has failed to get its project off the ground.
Ngubo said the group's efforts to get training from health institutions in their area has been fruitless. The group claims that despite several visits to Durban's department of health, no one has been willing to help.
"They told me that they only train people from North and South Central Local Councils and advised me to go to my own councillors. But our councillors said they have got nothing to do with Aids training," said Ngubo.
After the four deaths in January, "we didn't know what to do. Initially, we went to each and every house that had lost a person, to console them by singing, and praying with them," said Ngubo.
"We started with Operation Vulingqondo [enlighten the brain], where we were teaching ourselves how to behave sexually. We wanted to spread our ideas to the nearby schools, but the teachers would not allow us," said Ngubo.
The group approached Impiyamandla Secondary School's governing body, which allowed them to rehearse their plays and teach others about the dangers of Aids.
"But now the problem is that sometimes we are asked difficult questions that we can't answer, that's why we need some training ourselves," said Ngubo. "People confuse Aids with all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases."
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