FANIE DE VILLIERS

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 3 - Youth and Parents

By the age of 20, 14 out of every 100 young people are already infected with HIV and most of them were infected in their teens. The support group discussed the importance of communication with the youth, especially when it comes to sex related issues in this episode. Our studio guest was a teenage mother, Nokubonga Yawa, from Khayelitsha who shared with us the hardships she had to go through because her mother never spoke to her about sex.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 4 - Living with PLWHA

The Siyayinqoba Support Group spoke about living with HIV and how it affects the people who are close to us. In studio, we had Lihle's fiancé Mandla Ngcoya who shared with the viewers how he had thought of all the risks that come with marrying a HIV positive person. Another guest in studio was Busisiwe's son, Bongisisa Maqungo who also shared with the support group the different reactions he would get at school when he tells his peers that his mother is HIV positive.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 6 - Condoms in Schools

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we looked at the reasons behind the need for condom distribution in high schools around the country. Well-known comedian and actor, Pieter-Dirk Uys was in studio. Uys pointed out that leaders in South Africa are oblivious to the HIV/AIDS crisis we are facing and that it is a daily struggle to get them to pay attention to this growing epidemic especially when it comes to the youth of South Africa. Another studio guest, Cynthia Mgijima from the Department of Education, clarified that there is a lot of red-tape when it comes to the distribution of condoms in high schools but that the Department was trying to find other solutions to the high rate of teenage pregnancy and HIV infection.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 7 - Meet the support group

In this episode's Siyayinqoba Beat It! support group, we got to know more about new support group members, Shalom, Thami and Fanie; from how they contracted HIV to how they are coping with stigma and discrimination and how they educate others about accepting people living with HIV/AIDS.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 10 - Water and Sanitation

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the support group discussed water and sanitation and how it affects our lives. If we don't have toilets or running water in our homes, we are at risk of contracting cholera, typhoid and other diseases caused by contaminated water. What can we do to protect ourselves against these diseases? To the support group and viewers to understand this matter, Limpho Klu from Mvula Trust explained the importance of teamwork in communities to get clean water.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 12 - Tertiary Institutions

In South Africa, many of us finish grades 12 between the ages of 18 and 20, then we go on to study at a technikon or university, and many of us stay in hostels there. The number of people infected by HIV also increases in the 16 to 20 year age group. In this episode of Siyayinqoba the support group spoke about tertiary institutions and HIV. They were joined by Azola Goqwana who is a peer educator at the Cape Peninsula University to discuss this topic.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! Episode 16 - Faith-based communities

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 we look at faith based communities and HIV. Some churches, such as the JL Zwane Church, are doing a great deal to support and care for members of their congregation who are living with HIV, we also look at churches, like the Universal Church, who are promoting the idea that HIV can be cured through prayer.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! Episode 23 - ARV resistance and new regimens

This episode was about understanding drug classes and how ARVs work. Dr Majoro, an HIV clinician and traditional healer joins our support group and helps us to better understand our drug regimens and the importance of adherence. We head out to Khayelitsha where Médecins Sans Frontières help Monwabisi Bikwana make a special application for an antiretroviral which is not yet registered in South Africa.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! Episode 26 - VCT or routine testing?

In South Africa we have a policy of voluntary counselling and testing. However, many people die because they test too late. Their CD4 counts are very low, giving the ARVs less time to work effectively. In the past when treatment was not available, VCT was important to protect people from stigma, but since the roll-out of ARVs, many people are questioning whether VCT and written consent is the best policy for HIV prevention and treatment. We are joined by Justice Edwin Cameron who believes that VCT slows down the response to HIV and Mark Heywood, Director of the AIDS Law Project who believes that testing must remain voluntary and pre and post test counselling must remain.