COMMUNITY BUILDING |
culture and sport |
|
AIDS theme of 2000 SADC
schools essay competition |
The fight against AIDS has to begin at an early age if people are to lead a
healthy and cautious life. The SADC 2000 Secondary Schools Essay Competition, the winners
of which were announced at the Summit in Windhoek in August, was one way of driving the
message home.
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang,
South African Minister of Health, who announced the
winners of this year’s competition during the Summit, said that the quality of the
essays was very high, revealing the students’ deep understanding of the
pandemic.
“The complex interaction
between HIV/AIDS, poverty and other socio-economic factors was well articulated b
students. The impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals, family, the community and countries as a
whole was
explored and novel ideas were suggested for curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
We even had bold suggestions for governments and policy-makers,” said
Tshabalala-Msimang.
The topic for this year’s competition was:
“HIV/AIDS: How does it affect you, what can you do to contain its spread and what do
you propose for the SADC region.”
The annual competition is run in stages, first at the
national and then the regional levels. This year 32 students representing eleven SADC |
member
states, reached the regional stage. Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Seychelles did not enter the competition.
The first prize of US$1000 went to Sibanesezwe Malunga of
Hamilton High School in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; the second of US$750, to Yohane Kadalinga of M
akataka Secondary School, Mtakataka, Malawi and the third of US$500, to Ashveen Kutowaroo
of Sir Leckraz Teelock Secondary School in Mauritius.
In his poignant essay, Sibanesezwe gives an account of his
saddest feelings when he sees his best friend dying of AIDS. He is also incisive in his
words to those regional l aders in-volved in the fight
against HIV/AIDS.
“If the spread of AIDS is to be dealt with
effectively, the leadership of the SADC region must show more concern and commitment and
their stand on the whole issue should be crystal clear to the public. They can do this by
making funds available as fast as possible. A lot of bureaucracy and red tape should be
avoided.”
THE WINNER: Sibanesezwe Malunga |
The Malawian student, Yohane Kadalinga, in his essay focuses more on the social
consequences of the HIV/ AIDS pandemic in his country. He shows concern about the orphans
that end up
begging on the streets and bus terminals and those who engage into prosti-tution. Families
have suffered the burden of caring for AIDS patients.
He is also concerned with the consequences to the national
economy since the government has invested in young people to be economically productive,
but are already infected with
HIV and according to the statistics will be dying during the next decade. He suggests that
there should be a call for behavioral change to address the root causes of HIV/AIDS.
“As an individual I can help stop the spread of
HIV/AIDS by knowing the b sic facts about the disease and applying them to my own life.
While the knowledge itself cannot protect one from the HIV/AIDS scourge, it will help me
in making decisions,” writes Kadalinga.
Covering examples from different southern African
countries, Ashveen explains how HIV/AIDS is threatening regional economic growth.
by Renato Pinto |
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Zimbabwe lifts COSAFA Cup |
Southern Africa Film
Festival |
Zimbabwe captured the Council of Southern
African Football Associations (Cosafa) Castle Cup in Bulawayo recently with a 3-0 defeat
of Lesotho, to win 6-0 on aggregate.
Playing the second leg at home, the Zimbabwean Warriors
were expected to secure their first silverware in the annual southern African championship
after winning 3-0 in Maseru in the first leg early August.
Previous winners are Zambia in 1997 and 1998, and Angola in
1999. |
The fifth edition of the
Southern African Film Festival (SAFF) opens this month to celebrate a decade of its
existence. The festival runs in the two cities of Zimbabwe, Harare and Bulawayo, from the
22-28 September and from 29 September to 5 October respectively.
“The major objective of the festival is to bring to
contact African films and
the audiences,” said Isaac Mabhikwa, SAFF director. The festival as a premier film
showcase in the region, urges film- Southern Africa film festival makers to seize the
opportunity to market their products through the growing
event.
The decade of existence of the festival has been marked by
intense lobby-ing
through government officials |
and
government structures and sector meetings for the enactment of laws and structures that
promote the production and consumption of African films in Africa.
Despite its constant growth, SAFF faces a major problem of
funding for its activities. This according to event organisers is due to lack of
government support.
Mabhikwa urged for a closer cooperation between SAFF and
SADC in the future. He expressed appreciation of the existing relationship and hopes they
will improve to assist the industry that is awakening. “SAFF hopes the proposed SADC
Culture and Information Protocol will boost the industry and drive it to greater
heights,” said Mabhikwa. |
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