COMMUNITY JOURNALISTS STORIES
|
|
Whilst our Community Journalists are gathering footage for the up coming series of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we will be posting many of there stories from the road. Our first story Positive People Dying from the High Levels of Stigma in Mtubatuba, comes from one of our KZN CJs, Wendy Kumar. |
|
Gender Violence |
|
|
Just recently I worked on two stories where young girls were assaulted as a result of the wrongdoings of men and society. For Siyayinqoba Beat It! we did a story about a young girl, who at a vulnerable time in her life was raped by a man who was supposed to keep her safe. In a different case, a 16 year old from Palmaton, near Lusikisiki was forced to grow up when her innocence was taken by a man close to 50 years of age who forcefully made her his wife. What is worse is that she now has a baby, from continuous rape and violation of her rights as a girl child. This behaviour means women and girls are becoming more and more vulnerable to contracting HIV. For days after working with these girls I struggled to sleep at night. I could not stop thinking about my younger sister who is 13. I could not imagine her being anybody's wife, let alone being forced to have sex at her age. From day to day we are raping woman and children (girls and boys) and if we are not raping them we are beating them up and/or even killing them. Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that not all of us are like that, but in sitting back and keeping quiet about issues affecting our community we are as guilty as the perpetrators of these evil deeds. - Masizole Gonyale |
|
Resources out of Reach for Rural Patients |
|
|
But what hurt me the most was that, despite the high rates of MDR/XDR TB at Msinga, people still find it difficult to get help from clinics and hospitals because they are miles away. Some of the patients we interviewed at the Church of Scotland Hospital said that as they are unemployed, it's hard for them to get to the hospital. If they don't get help from their family members or neighbours then they are unable to go. "If you do not have money for transport to go to the clinic you will get sick until you are bed ridden, and at that time you cannot do anything, then you die. Our wish as commuters of this area is to have clinics and hospital near us so that we will get access easily," said one of the residents. The Msinga region has the highest number of drug-resistant TB cases in our country and most of these patients are HIV positive. Although this area is stricken by high rates of unemployment the residents are trying their best to reach the clinics and hospitals to get treated. - Wendy Kumalo |
|
The Right to a Healthy Environment |
|
|
The water in Mvimvana location is not fit for human consumption. People share streams with livestock, and use it for laundry, bathing and drinking. While filming her story, she showed us her legs which are badly scarred, as a result of consuming and bathing with the unclean water, the same water she uses to take her ARVs. She tells me she believes her skin problems will never go away because the cycle just goes on and on, she gets sick, goes to the clinic and then comes back to use the same water for her treatment. During filming I asked her if there is anything being done by the local counselor about the water problem. She showed me a cement tank with water from the last time it rained, there weren't any pipes so the water in the tank is not different from that in the stream, a dark khaki colour - I couldn't even imagine drinking it. She feels running water is a privilege only to be enjoyed by people in the cities. After talking to her and explaining to her that it is one of her many rights, we could see that she was going to take a stand against this disregard of her right. Being the fighter that she is, I am certain that after this a change may be coming for Mvimvana location, not from the "people from the city with cameras" as the locals called us, but from one of their own. - Zona Mpendulo |
|
Shock as Youth Continue to Believe in Multiple Partners |
|
|
With HIV infections so high I would have thought that this kind of mentality was a thing of the past. And the relationship between multiple partners and the transmission of HIV is one proven over and over. As the morning unfolded, we were joined by a group of his friends. As the six spoke, the conversation became more controversial, more outrageous leaving me totally flabbergasted. "I have five girlfriends" one shouts. They briefly talk about condom usage but it's clear that even though they know and are clued up about HIV infection and prevention, condoms are not used constantly. Some state that they know their HIV status whilst the others prefer to look the other way. And all aren't the slightest embarrassed to say they don't use condoms with "straights" (the ones they "love"). "I can't have one girlfriend" the talkative one blurts out. "What about the responsibility to protect your straight girlfriend from HIV?" I ask. "Well, I always use condoms with the rest," he answers. But I don't believe him one bit. - Nobantu Kumalo |
I was born and have been living in South Africa for 28 years now but I find it a disgrace and a shame to be a man in a country where women and children are abused every day, where rape occurs every 26 seconds.
There are many changes that have been made in our country, however some South Africans are still suffering to get their basic needs met. Recently we took the long drive from Grey Town to the deep rocky rural area of Msinga, located in the central part of KwaZulu-Natal, where we shot a story on MDR/XDR TB. It broke my heart that after 15 years under a democratic government, there are still people who are living in such poor conditions. They are still lacking basic human requirements, like water, electricity etc. For them to gather water they must stand in long queues with only one borehole for the entire community.
Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being (section 24 of the Bill of Rights and Constitution). Sounds good doesn't it? Who wouldn't want to live in a country that grants them amongst many, that right? Is that right protected? Well, not so long ago with my comrade Masi, we did a story on a brave woman from Lusikisiki. Born and bred in Mvimvana location, she has never felt the splash of fresh, clean tap water against her skin, let alone tasted it. Yet like all South Africans she supposedly has the right to a healthy environment.
The turn of the century brought with it many changes in perceptions, beliefs and numerous myths. But unfortunately some people still refuse to question some of their beliefs. One of these dubious beliefs being that the measure of one's manhood is the number of women you can bag. We were in the breathtaking, mountainous regions of Mpumalanga in a village called Kwabokweni to meet a young man Jeffrey. Jeffrey is a self proclaimed, two-timing, bed-hopping womanizer who isn't shy to tell that to the world. "I have about four girlfriends. As a result, I am well respected amongst my peers," he says.
