MBOMBELA – The last leg of the provincial launch of the Zazi Know Yourself HIV/Aids Programme will be held at the Oewersig Hall, next to the Lowveld Showground at 10:00 on September 7.
That is the moment that both MEC for health and social development,
Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini and current
Miss Mpumalanga, Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, will share the podium with a number of experts in the fight against HIV/Aids in the region.
This has been described as an event that will pave the way for young girls from 16 to 24 to engage in talks about ridding themselves of being abused by “sugar daddies” within their societies.
This was comes after two successful launches, first in Ermelo, Gert Sibande District and then in Middelburg, Nkangala District, which showcased a number of interactions between Mashego-Dlamini and Kunene with the youngsters who discussed their problems matter-of-factly.
“This has been an eye-opener for us as a province that indeed these children can open up on such issues, yet before it was just a dream that you could actually approach them about such issues as youngsters normally stand up to their parents when confronted.
“The last two launches have even given us an idea that in future interactions with the children, we also need to invite the parents, especially the mothers who are faced with these problems, 24 hours.
“There are numerous issues that emerged which we saw fit that the entire family needs to be involved in the fight against HIV/Aids. The very sugar daddies need to eventually be involved, then our problems shall have been resolved and then we can experience an HIV-free society in years to come,” said Mashego-Dlamini.
Kunene, on the other hand, has urged the youth in and around Ehlanzeni District, to come in their numbers to the local launch next Saturday.
“We really appeal to the youth to come in their numbers to the launch. This is not only about us, but about them and the entire society. “As has been always said by other communities: you can’t do things about us without us – we’re doing exactly that, engaging you directly and resolving problems simultaneously with you, then we can have a better society to deal with, one that speaks and acts in voice,” she said.
Plans are afoot to establish local structures within each community that shall tackle such issues among the youth, especially the girl-child who are vulnerable to the root cause of being attracted to sugar daddies for material gain.
In Gert Sibande and Nkangala districts, those structures have already been established and as the last district launch takes place, it will see Kunene embark on personal interactions with all girl-children across the province, after a formal camp of all the representatives of the structures at the Floreat Riverside Lodge in Sabie from September 26 to 28.
