CPUT staff and students will be commemorating World Aids Day on our Cape Town Campus today.

The event is the culmination of a year which saw CPUT being heralded as a front-runner amongst tertiary institutions in the fight against the disease.

The cornerstones of CPUT’S HIV/Aids unit are the peer educators, who work tirelessly on campus spreading prevention methods and giving support.

Last month, peer educators from all three campuses were acknowledged for their contribution at a glitzy event.

Director of the Higher Education Aids Department (HEAids), Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, says CPUT is doing very well compared to the 23 other institutions his organisation monitors.

“Peer education is the way forward and I believe in it,” he says.

“CPUT is doing very well and I appreciate your efforts.”

HIV/Aids unit HOD Dr Ashraf Mohammed personally congratulated each educator and awarded them with a certificate.

Join the HIV/Aids unit between 1 and 2pm in Seminar Room two of the Administration Building on Cape Town campus.

The theme is “Getting to Zero” and the team have an uplifting and informative programme planned.

By: Lauren Kansley

Written by CPUT News

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“At CPUT, we are creating futures - but most importantly we want to create healthy futures.” These were the words of Dean of Student Affairs Cora Njoli-Motale, at the launch of CPUT’s Mobile Wellness Unit on the Bellville Campus on World Aids Day. The state-of-the-art vehicle is testament to the hard work and vision of CPUT’s HIV Institutional Coordinating Committee (HICC) within the HIV/AIDS Unit, and is a fitting symbol of one of the themes of this year’s World Aids Day - universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support.

Dean of Student Affairs Cora Njoli-Motale, gets a good look at CPUT’s Mobile Wellness Unit as the state-of-the-art vehicle is launched on the Bellville Campus on World Aids Day.

The spacious and well-equipped mobile unit aims to encompass all the health services offered by the HIV/AIDS Unit, Student Health, Student Counseling and the Disability Unit, and will give CPUT the muscle to reach all its service sites, internally and externally. Broad coverage of all of CPUT’s satellite campuses, as well as the surrounding communities is envisaged. This will allow the unit to provide a platform for a holistic wellness strategy for screening, appropriate referrals and health promotion, enhancing the well-being of students, staff and the broader community.Funded by the European Union (EU) through the Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme, (HEAIDS) some of the tests that will be conducted in the unit include voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, blood pressure and cholesterol analysis, screening for tuberculosis, testing for pregnancy, emergency contraception and condom distribution. Alex Semba, Projects Coordinator at the HIV/AIDS Unit says the mobile unit will have a registered nurse and a counselor available everyday and will start operating from early 2011.
He adds, “This is an exciting day for the entire CPUT. The HIV/AIDS unit would like to thank the EU for the funding and our Executive Management for the encouragement and support.”Joining in the celebrations at the launch, Vice-Chancellor Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga reiterated that CPUT has a responsibility to engage with and give back to the broader community. “By not supporting people who are living with HIV/AIDS, we’ll be sentencing South Africa to a guillotine. We hope that not only CPUT will benefit from this initiative, but also the entire Western Cape community.”A little further afield, World Aids Day was also marked on 1st December in a moving and joyous ceremony on CPUT’s Wellington Campus. In a joint initiative with the Hawequa Correctional Centre, CPUT donated funds generated from the HIV/AIDS Road Race held in September to two local orphanages that care for children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Wellington Student Affairs Sports Development Officer, Tyrone Africa, is certain the annual Boland Athletics-accredited race will grow into one of the premier races in the region, attracting the top athletes in the Boland, and thereby generating more funds for worthy organisations who tackle HIV/AIDS head-on.This year, the caregivers from “House of Hope” and “Let the Children Come” orphanages in Mbekweni in Paarl were the delighted recipients of the cash donation, and a brand-new Wendy house to replace the dilapidated structure that had previously housed children at one of the care facilities.

Mrs Wendy of "House of Hope" and Mrs Miriam of "Let the Children Come", two of the orphanages in Mbekweni , Paarl, that received funds from the proceeds of the annual HIV/AIDS Road Race, jointly organised by CPUT Wellington and the Hawequa Correctional Centre.

Speaking at the handover event in Wellington, Manager for Civic Engagement at CPUT’s Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning Centre, Buntu Gwija, echoed the Vice-Chancellor’s sentiments about CPUT’s mandate to engage with communities. “As a university, we need to play a central role in guiding communities to be responsible communities. The people sitting here are united in one voice that says we care, we are concerned about HIV/AIDS.”

By Andiswa Dantile & Jan Weintrob

Written by CPUT News

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This year World Aids Day on 1 December will be commemorated with a week-long campaign across two of CPUT’s campuses – Bellville and Cape Town.

This international initiative provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the HIV pandemic, to encourage sexually active individuals to know their status and to commemorate those who have lost their lives as a result of HIV.

Information tables, where both staff and students can be tested not only for HIV, but also other sexually transmitted illnesses as well as TB will be the focal point of the university’s efforts to create awareness around HIV. HIV testing is voluntary and staff and students are encouraged to get tested or simply to come for general health screenings at the information tables.

On Cape Town campus the information table will be on the Piazza from 27 to 28 November, while it will be in the area between the Major Sports Hall and the Admin Building on Bellville campus from 29 November to 1 December.

The theme for this year’s World Aids Day is Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability, and Partnerships.

According to Stats SA 12.7% of the country’s total population of 55 million people live with HIV. A further 5.6% of South Africans aged between 15 and 24 has HIV, while 18.9% of adults aged 15-49 years live with HIV. Despite this high prevalence of HIV, HIV activists still have to battle against the stigma surrounding the disease.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of getting tested and knowing your status. The latest development in antiretroviral treatment is that one no longer has to wait for your CD4 count to be below a certain threshold to start treatment. You can start treatment immediately after finding out you are HIV+,” says Unathi Bheme, a final year Education student who bravely disclosed her status in Parliament last year.

Staff and students are also urged to bring donations of sanitary towels to the information tables. By doing this they are automatically entered into a lucky draw and stand the chance to win prizes. The Donate a Pad Project (DAPP) is an initiative by the HIV unit that formally kicks off on Monday, 27 November. This initiative will extend beyond World Aids Day and continue well into 2018. Staff and students can also drop off donations of sanitary towels at the following offices:

• HIV Unit
• Campus Clinic
• Student Counseling
• Department of Student Affairs; and
• Disability Unit

Female students in need of sanitary towels can collect sanitary towels from these same offices.

Written by Abigail Calata

The HIV/AIDS Unit commemorated World AIDS Day 2009 with a number of events including a presentation at Malmesbury Prison on 30 November to coincide with its 2009 Prisoner Peer Education Awards Ceremony, an event with the Community Health Forum of Bellville on 1 December and a presentation to the staff of the Public Protectors Office in Cape Town on 4 December.

The Malmsbury Prison event was hosted in collaboration with the Group of Hope of Prisoners Malmesbury Prison (GOHMA). This project strives to empower inmates who have pledged their support to neighbouring communities in various ways, including the fostering of children living with terminally ill parents.

In addition to its own collection and fundraising campaigns in prison, GOHMA requests local businesses to provide the children with food parcels, school uniforms and books.

There are currently 13 children are under the foster care by GOHMA. A fashion show showcasing the clothes manufactured by the inmates for the fostered children was one of the highlights of the 2009 World AIDS Day event.

Outgoing chairperson of GOHMA Xolisani Galada, said the children were identified through the local schools as well as inmates of Malmesbury Prison.

The CPUT HIV/AIDS Unit is involved in a continuous partnership with GOHMA, known as the Ithemba Project, that includes the training of inmates in sewing, fashion design, art, and ongoing HIV/AIDS/STI and TB Awareness campaigns, as well as capacity building and lifeskills programmes. The Ithemba Project promotes continuity in HIV/AIDS community outreach, as inmates who are released train others, with support from the HIV/AIDS Unit and Malmesbury Prison.

Dr Joyce Nduna, CPUT Director Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning delivered the keynote address during the event. Earlier on, Marius Haren of the HIV/AIDS Unit delivered a talk on life after HIV. The Sinenjongo Choir, a group of inmates at the prison, rendered musical items throughout the event.

Other items on the program included an overview of the HIV/AIDS program at Malmesbury Prison by Dr Ashraf Mohammed, Head of the HIV/AIDS Unit at CPUT, the symbolic lighting of candles and the handing over of Christmas gifts to the children by Haren (dressed in the Father Christmas suit) and by Mark Canning, a representative of the US Embassy who had donated the Christmas gifts.

The event for Bellville Health Forum at the Bellville South Civic Centre was marked by the distribution of information about HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis and speeches from representatives from various community organisations dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Dr Mohammed discussed the progression of HIV infection to AIDS and subsequent death due to opportunistic diseases. Inspector Raymon Solomon of the Social Crime Prevention Unit of the SAPS advised women on what to do should they get raped. He mentioned that the SAPS has improved its service to rape victims so that they can reduce traumatisation by reporting cases immediately.

Zanele Gantsho from Mothers to Mothers said people need to know what to do when they are HIV positive.

She read a message of hope which pleaded: “We ask for your special blessing for all infected and affected by HIV and Aids. Help us to accept and face ignorance, stigma and discrimination associated with this disease. Grant us courage. Fill the hearts of all with compassion and unselfish concern to accept and support, to treat with kindness and love those who are courageously living with HIV/AIDS.”

For more information about CPUT’s World Aids Day 2009 initiatives, visit http://www.cput.ac.za/students/saas/hivaidsunit.

By Thami Nkwanyane

Written by CPUT News
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