Honoured for reaching out to HIV patients, LGBTQ community
Volunteers of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition were honoured for their role in making a difference in the lives of people who are HIV positive as well as members of the LGBTQ community.
The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) has always prioritised community development and wellness.
They are an organisation that aims to help disadvantaged people in the community, in particular, people who are HIV positive as well as members of the LGBTQ community.
The organisation recently held an awards function at ANEW Hotel Roodepoort to celebrate and give recognition to its volunteers who served the community with extreme dedication. The awards ceremony comes following a successful three-year outreach project.
According to the organiser of the community project, Khokhelwa Zokwana, the awards ceremony is well deserved. Khokhelwa added the community project involved reaching out to HIV patients and members of the LGBTQ community.
“The main objectives of the project were to empower them through skills development, social awareness and community development in terms of making facilities and resources more accessible. All the volunteers were awarded certificates for their service and involvement in improving communities. The organisation holds weekly workshops in many areas on the West Rand, including Roodepoort, Kagiso, Muldersdrift and Randfontein,” Khokhelwa said.
Regarding the workshops, Khokhelwa said the main theme is known as a Citizen Science project.
“The Citizen Science Life Maps (CS-LM) project is a key component implemented by ITPC and funded by Bill and Melinda Gates in 2022. This project uses a unique form of citizen journalism that documents the perspectives and priorities of people living with or at risk of HIV and Aids. Specifically, citizen journalism is an innovative data collection technique that involves Recipients of Care (ROC) documenting their everyday life experiences with HIV and Aids. This project uses qualitative approaches such as photographs, videos and textual narratives to document real-life experiences of ROCs through a community lens, focusing on their experiences with access to HIV treatment and care, as well as other lifestyle factors that impact their access to healthcare services.”
ITPC now looks ahead to making an even bigger difference in 2025.
