Empowering the youth in the fight against HIV/AIDS

A new home-grown youth movement in Swaziland has emerged, to try and come to grips with the country's burgeoning HIV/AIDS emergency. Thomas Mkhotshwa, 21, an entrepreneur with a ready smile, sees HIV/AIDS as an opportunity to unite the youth in his neighbourhood who are unemployed or have dropped out of school. "These young people who are my friends are the very ones who get AIDS. There are no jobs, they have nothing to do but hang around and have sex. We formed the Fairview Youth Club to keep them occupied," he said. Fairview is a middle-class residential area north of Manzini, Swaziland's commercial hub 35 km east of Mbabane, the capital. The club is part of an unpublicised national movement. School leavers are taking to the streets, not to protest or while away their time, but to wash cars for fundraising, clean up their neighbourhoods and hand out HIV/AIDS awareness literature. Nearly 300 teenagers turned out for a recent clean-up campaign in Fairview. Manzini City Council was happy to have the work done. The town is a member of the Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action Against AIDS at the Local Level (AMICAALL), as are 11 other municipal areas. "AMICAALL trained us as peer educators, and we come up with projects that are financed by AMICAALL," said Hlonipho Dlamini, who runs the Fairview Youth Club carwash. Around half-dozen youths operate the carwash, consisting of a raised concrete platform, a one-roomed office and a water tap, which is financed by AMICAALL-Swaziland, and is in turn supported by the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS and the African Capacity Building Foundation. "The youth volunteers are taking control of their destinies. They have seen the effects of AIDS on their families, and they know what is in store for them if they don't take charge," said Rudolph Maziya, National Coordinator of AMICAALL. Hlonipho's plan is simple: he sends friends out to spread the word to an ever-widening circle of neighbourhood youths. They show up for meetings, lured by music, food and a chance to socialise in an area that has few recreational opportunities for young people. "We have drama groups that put on AIDS shows, and speakers, like people living with HIV/AIDS. It's not boring - we try to keep it lively, with music so people will enjoy themselves as they learn," said Doris Shongwe, a social organiser of the club. In Mbabane the youth club devotes community meetings to more serious discussions of HIV/AIDS issues, rather than entertainment. "On Saturdays we call the community people together from an area. We discuss testing, antiretroviral drugs, nutrition; people debate health issues - it can be very intense," said Jabulani Simelane, a youth peer coordinator. Since the members of the Ezulwini Youth Drama Club, located in a suburb of Mbabane, graduated from a drama workshop financed by AMICAALL, they have been staging HIV/AIDS plays. "The day after we graduated we put on a show for a thousand students in Manzini. Our play was about the lives of youth today, the pressures from peers and the impulses of love and sexual desire that push youth into sexual relations. We show the youth that there are consequences to sex today, but you can still love and enjoy yourself if you are responsible," said Tony Bhembe, 20, one of the actors. With the world's highest HIV infection rate - estimated at around 40 percent of adults - Swaziland has initiated a national movement for youth volunteerism to counteract the disease. Historically a poor place, the border post of Lavumisa, the main crossing for traffic from Swaziland to the South African port of Durban, has been hard-hit by HIV/AIDS. Now government grants channelled through AMICAALL have built a new public swimming pool, the lowveld town's first. Pamphlets on HIV/AIDS, nutrition and health issues are part of the recreation, as is peer-group advice. "These young men ... have the time to hear how they can avoid the disease," said Thuli Magagula, one of the volunteers. Young people also volunteer for other tasks in the community, such as visiting care facilities. "Families who cannot take care of their terminally ill can use Hope House. The youth volunteers are peer educators who use Hope House as a ... workshop to put into practice what they've been taught," said Sarah Dlamini, one of the facility's directors. "We came to plant and weed the vegetable garden, but that job was too small. We clean the houses, and we speak with the patients. Many of them are very lonely people," said volunteer Sam Dube, 19. "This work makes you feel satisfied with yourself," said Facilia Dube, Sam's sister. "AIDS has been so destructive, but I wonder if we would be doing this - learning and having this experience - if not for AIDS. It is bringing people together. It is telling the youth they must grow up, and take charge."