March 5: Johannesburg, Soweto & SABC
I always imagined that Johannesburg would have celebrities crowding the streets. But mostly people drive around in cars. Even if I didn't see any, I have felt like a celebrity in Jo'burg. Today I walked around SABC, tried Indian food for the first time in Melville and went by Hillbrow. It was all great, but my favorite part was the presentations to teenagers in Soweto. They need to hear from a young and hip person and realize that what they think they know about HIV/AIDS is not enough.There is
Jabulani Technical High School Soweto
Soweto is one of the oldest black townships in South Africa and a place where the biggest anti-apartheid student movement took place. It is exactly what I thought it would be - brown and interesting. The first time I saw Soweto was in Sarafina, a movie about apartheid. In my generation most of the Kwaito artists like Zola and Brown Dash film their videos and sing about Soweto.
I spoke at Jabulani Technical High School to 15 and 16 year olds. Schools in this township are portrayed as a place of crime with naughty children. They were the opposite. Although they were well behaved most of them were not attentive when I began to speak.
Presenting to students in the US is different because my story is
something new to them. In South Africa, kids hear about this
everyday, so they are like, "Yeah we have heard that
before so let's get it done and over with." I used to be
the same way. The subject of HIV / AIDS felt boring
and annoying and
it is not unique, In South Africa it is the everyday news.
All I could think about was my
daughter Onwabo sitting on one of those chairs. About myself and if I
would have listened. This gave me strength, you see. By the end, the
kids were so engaged they asked questions beyond the recess bell.
SAFM Afternoon Live with Thabiso Sikwane
It filled me with pride to be in front of a mic in a studio for a South African audience. The interviewer was great although some of the callers were strange and were saying crazy stuff. Yet, speaking live on the radio made me feel that I was amongst those affected, reaching into their hearts and minds.
I was talking about living with AIDS
to people that are also living with the disease or have loved
ones trying to get through the day with it. People must see that
denial only deepens the power of AIDS. This disease is not going
anywhere until we face it. HIV/ AIDS is a challenge, not a
death sentence and today I realized, If it isn't me, who is it
going to be?
