Sport heroes walk against AIDS

The Msukaligwa Local Municipality and a host of South African sport heroes have declared war on the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.

This was evident when the local municipality hosted the annual Discovery Health Sport Heroes Walk Against AIDS (DHSHWAA) in Ermelo last Tuesday.

The 5km walk started at the Ermelo Civic Centre and finished at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Wesselton where the walkers and community members received free HIV counselling and testing as well as overall health screenings.

Former SABC sport presenter, Cynthia Tshaka, who is also the project coordinator of DHSHWAA, said it was imperative for people to know that politicians alone cannot solve the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“We all have to play our part to de-stigmatise HIV/AIDS. The first step is for us to learn more about the disease so we can be able to give the necessary support to those infected and affected by the disease,” she said.

The Executive Mayor of Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Cllr Sipho Bongwe, who led the political leadership and municipal officials during the walk, thanked the project coordinator of DHSHWAA and her team for choosing Msukaligwa.

“It is such partnerships that we need in order for us to gain the upper hand against this pandemic. We also hope that all of us present here would spread the word and fight against the stigma associated with the disease,” Cllr Bongwe said.

The sport heroes, that included former Banyana Banyana captain, Desiree Ellis, and Olympic gold medallist Josia Tugwane, also conducted sport coaching clinics for pupils from local schools.

Together with the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation and the Office of the Speaker of Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, they also handed over sporting equipment to local clubs and sanitary towels to deserving pupils from local schools.