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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Refusing to Lose Hope: Zambian Documentary Series
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| Harriet's mother, Esther Tagiwa Chikondo, who appears in Tikambe |
"Both documentaries demonstrate the pitfalls and power of living openly with HIV," said Elizabeth Serlemitsos, Chief of Party for ZIHPCOMM, the communication component of ZIHP. "It takes a lot of courage to disclose one's status and these films show how family and community are key to reducing stigma by supporting HIV-positive members."
The first film centers on Alice and Paul, an HIV-positive couple who are in the midst of raising a young family. Once the couple makes the joint decision to disclose their status, the entire family experiences the stigma and discrimination that accompany an HIV-positive diagnosis. The film focuses on the couple's work within their community to educate others on how to protect themselves and those they love from the HIV virus. Alice and Paul are shown reaching out to their community to promote the importance of voluntary counseling and testing as well as preventing mother-to-child transmission.
The second film revolves around the powerful story of Harriet, a widow suffering from AIDS who had been rejected by her family. Her mother and sister receive educational counseling on HIV and AIDS and reconcile with Harriet, who proudly walks though her town wearing a T-shirt proclaiming her positive status to serve as an example of someone living positively with HIV/AIDS. She conducts frank discussions with her neighbors on how to protect oneself from the virus and how to survive if infected.
Family members who agreed to take part in Tikambe are honest about their fears of being infected by and shamed by their HIV-positive family members. They openly address and accept their own stigmatizing behaviorsand in Harriet's case, move beyond them to understanding the virus and the disease.
"So I started thinking that since she is my own child, what do I do?" Harriet's mother, Esther Tagiwa Chikondo, recalls wondering before receiving HIV and AIDS counseling. "If I stop touching her, who will? And if I touch her, what will happen? I'll catch HIV?"
Viewers can relate to the fears of infection and stigmatization as well as the sadness and guilt at the mistreatment of HIV/AIDS sufferers that stem from a lack of knowledge about HIV and AIDS.
A discussion guide is being developed to accompany the films, which will be distributed throughout Zambia. The film will also be broadcast on Zambian television with a discussion program following the film.
CCP is a leader in the field of entertainment-education, which uses music, television, radio, and live drama to deliver public health messages. CCP also strives to increase the ability of African countries to write and produce high quality entertainment-education programming. In the case of Tikambe, Producer/Director Carol Duffy Clay worked with a team of Zambians in developing their capacity.
With representatives in more than 30 countries, Johns Hopkins' CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based communication for behavior change and health promotion that has helped transform the theory and practice of public health communications.
For further information contact: Kim Martin at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA. Tel: 410 659-6140; Fax: 410 659-6266 e-mail: press@jhuccp.org.
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© 2005 The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.