Lives at play

The actors are on standby and the lights and microphones are on. But before he says “Action,” director Célio Grandes Machado spends several minutes carefully going over the script. Ntxuva – Vidas em Jogo (Ntxuva – Lives at Play), Mozambique's first locally produced soap opera, has an educational purpose, so there can be no deviations.



In the provinces of Maputo and Gaza, Ntxuva is the name of a popular game known as "African chess", played with stones on a wooden board with holes, or on the ground.



The soap opera, produced by the Independent Communication Corporation (SOICO), a private broadcaster, will hit the airwaves in January 2009 with the purpose of informing Mozambicans about various public-health issues, in particular HIV and AIDS, in an entertaining way.



With financial support from the United States Embassy, the broadcaster has imported experienced professionals and high-quality equipment from a Brazilian production company, CineVideo, which makes hugely popular soap operas, some of which are already well known in Mozambique.



It is hoped the partnership will produce a soap opera in the capital, Maputo, of the same quality as those made in Brazil. "I'm very satisfied with the result, and knowing that there is a social purpose to it all is even more pleasing," said Grandes, 51, who has been working in Brazil's film and television industry as a director for 28 years.



Crafting accurate messages



The producers of Ntxuva – Vidas em Jogo also brought Brazilian scriptwriter Patrícia Curti to Mozambique so that she could become familiar with the local culture and find inspiration for the soap opera's characters.



Although careful consideration has been given to the show's entertainment value, even greater care has been taken to ensure that the educational messages in all 15 episodes hit home.



Various health-sector specialists were interviewed and public health consultant Avertino Barreto, who advised the Ministry of Health on its first AIDS programme, carried out a rigorous technical analysis of the script.



Actor Vasco Condo, who plays a nurse called Chongo, said he had learned about the importance of not only washing vegetables but leaving them in water with a spoonful of bleach for several minutes. "Before, I only used to wash vegetables with running water; now I know that if they're not washed well, they can carry diseases like cholera."



The nurse played by Condo is one of the main characters in the soap opera, which centres around two middle-class families living on the outskirts of Maputo. More than 40 others help give life to issues such as hygiene, nutrition, traditional medicine, traffic safety and drugs.



Each episode will focus on a specific theme, with the exception of AIDS, which will be weaved through the entire plot. Former miner Muvale and activist Graça are the protagonists of stories covering condoms, stigma, antiretroviral treatment, and relationships between discordant couples in which one partner is HIV positive and the other negative.



After each episode a pre-recorded programme will be broadcast, using testimony from specialists and celebrities to expand on the issues dealt with in the show.



Communicating to foster change



Ntxuva – Vidas em Jogo is the latest in a series of health-related communication activities in Mozambique, aimed at encouraging behavioural changes to reduce the rate of HIV infection. An estimated 12.5 percent of adult Mozambicans are living with HIV, according to UNAIDS.



Although expectations of the soap opera are high, specialists have pointed out the need to reach people without access to television through partnerships with community radio stations, lectures in local languages, plays in which community members can participate, and peer education.



"Information has to be passed on with the customs, mannerisms and traditions of Mozambican daily life," said Diogo Milagre, executive secretary of the National Council for the Fight Against AIDS. 



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