Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 30 November 2003
Roy Probert in Geneva
It is fitting that the choir should be the highlight at the opening session of the Federation's supreme governing body. Here before leading figures of National Societies was a group of volunteers that have truly made a positive difference to their community.
The Soweto branch of the South African Red Cross began its HIV/AIDS programme in 1998. The volunteers met every Friday to discuss what problems they had encountered during the previous week and set out their plans for the coming seven days.
"When a group of us get together, it is normal for us to sing. Someone heard us and suggested we form a choir," explains Mantshadi Moralo, the branch's HIV/AIDS project coordinator and a member of the choir.
Inspiration
That was in 2001. Since then the choir has given support to its members and inspiration to people living with HIV/AIDS in Soweto. In total, there are 68 active volunteers in the Soweto branch, bringing care to some 700 people living with the virus.
The choir wears colourful traditional costumes and sing uplifting songs in English, Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho. The songs are joyful, even if the reality of their work is often painful. "Music heals," Mantshadi says. "These are not just songs. They are practical. They express deep feelings about the realities of living with HIV."
One person that has been energized through joining the choir is 25-year-old Paul Musi, one of the members of the choir who is HIV-positive. Paul was ill and weak when he first encountered the Red Cross, but once he felt better, he was persuaded to become a volunteer and, given his strong voice, join the choir.
"Since I met the Red Cross my life has changed. I now have the strength and the courage to know who I am and to give something back to the community," Paul says. Now an indefatigable full-time volunteer, it is important for him to demonstrate that HIV-positive people have a great deal to contribute to their communities.
Second chance
"Living with the virus is not the end of the world. There is a second chance in life," he says. Paul is comfortable talking publicly about his status and has become an important member of the branch, able to speak with authority about what it means to be living with the virus.
His mantra seems to be 'think positive': "The other members of the choir do not allow me to feel sorry for myself. If I have problems, I share them. Negative thoughts will hunt you down," Paul says.
Having a person like Paul who is prepared to publicly show a positive image is a crucial tool in combating discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. But as Mantshadi says, stigma is less of a problem now than when the programme began five years ago. "Everyone knows someone who has died of AIDS," she explains.
All 27 members of the choir have made the trip to Geneva. For most, Paul included, it is the first time they have been abroad or stepped onto an aeroplane. The reaction they have had in Switzerland has been positive: "we have had a warm reception from the people, but a cold reception from the climate," says Mantshadi, pulling her jacket a little closer around her.
Acceptance
All but four of the choir are facilitators û either peer educators or home-based carers. The Soweto branch has a policy that volunteers living with HIV/AIDS should not do home visits, because of the risk of them contracting tuberculosis. But sometimes û when a family is afraid or in denial û a volunteer who has been through the same experience will be drafted in to help out.
"Paul has helped many people to accept their condition, and persuaded them to go to a support group," Mantshadi says.
The impact of the choir is felt beyond the confines of their township, and their work on the frontline of the battle against HIV/AIDS is appreciated by the national leadership of the South African Red Cross.
"People with HIV/AIDS themselves have formed support groups, which are part of the choir. For us it is an honour, because it means the community of Soweto has trusted us enough as an organisation to make their own brand of humanity shine through the Red Cross," says Mandisa Kalako-Williams, president of the South African Red Cross.
"Take the music to soothe the pain of losing a patient û soothe the pain of the hopelessness in the communities we are working with. Sing your heart out because you have hope for the future," she says.
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