HIV/AIDs Projects

Mxolisi says: “My first month was for me to learn more about Umthombo Street Children, my time was spent mostly with the outreach team on the streets where the children hang out. It was quite an experience for me seeing different families on the street; the kids look after each other. They share whatever food they have, cook together. One group that really inspired me was the one in Winder Street, when we got there the children had pots on fire cooking breakfast. We had to stay a while before breakfast was served; we had fish, red meat, bread and juice. While having breakfast one of the boys there who had gone for a H.I.V test was telling us how happy he was because his result come out negative, it was also interesting listening to the other children’s responses.”

This experience, as well as other issues such as the number of girls getting pregnant on the streets, highlighted to Mxolisi the need for children on the streets to be taught more about the HIV/AIDs virus. A number of arts-based HIV/AIDs projects are being developed. Umthombo will be building partnerships with other organisations working in Durban around HIV/AIDs awareness (e.g. Umthombo is supporting the YAP (Young and Positive) Project to run a creative, education-based programme 3 times a week for street girls). We will also be running our own arts-based HIV/AIDs projects.

“The Umthombo AIDS art project aims to educate the children about HIV/AIDs while having fun. Through story telling and discussions I will interact with the kids and get to know them better. I will first educate the children about the virus and ask the children to draw for me what they think the virus might look like and why. I will then divide the children into groups of twos, where I will ask them to share any personal story with their partners. From that story telling I ask them to give each other symbols, for instance lets say if you were to give your partner an animal character what would that animal/ symbol be and why? I’m also hoping to develop a life map with the kids, starting from the present to the future using symbols. That way Umthombo can get to know what are the children’s goals and future plans besides being on the streets, and we get to assist them in making those dreams come true. At the end of the whole project the children would have learned more about HIV/AIDs, they will have life maps to live up to and symbols that they could be remembered with.”