“Live healthy lives and let’s kick TB and AIDS”

Hundreds of residents in and around Lwamondo took part in the TB and HIV/Aids awareness campaign at the Munna Ndi Nnyi's sports grounds on Saturday.

Although the main focus of the day was on sporting activities, particularly by the elderly as an effort to combat and prevent tuberculosis and encourage healthy living, the event started with a formal programme where different stakeholders addressed the people.

“Our elderly will soon play soccer to promote the kicking of TB,” said Munna Ndi Nnyi's director, Mr Bardwell Mufunwaini.

He indicated that the organisation had realised that many people tended to get sick during summer because of high temperatures. It was important to exercise as it helped prevent the rate of possible patients who would be admitted to hospitals. “We can defeat TB, and it is curable,” he said. “We encourage healthy living for those who are infected with HIV. Yes, it is our duty and responsibility that new infections of HIV are prevented by all means.”

He stressed that making use of a condom during sexual intercourse and abstaining from sex remained the two major ways of preventing the spread of HIV and Aids .

There were some residents who raised some concerned about sentenced offenders who would just get released without finishing their sentences and without the community's knowledge. It was said that those ex-offenders tended to commit crimes again within their very communities.

The representative from the Department of Correctional Services, Mr Mbhadzima Baloyi, said that it was sad to hear that offenders who were placed on parole were doing crimes again. “We will present your concerns to our offices to make sure that this issue is dealt with,” he said. “We are looking forward to sitting down with our chiefs and seeing if it will not be helpful for us to provide them with a list of offenders from their area who will be released on parole. This will help the chiefs to welcome those offenders back into the community and make sure that they are monitored all the time.”

Vhomme Vho-Divhani Tshivhase urged women to respect their husbands, raise their children in love and be a source of motivation in the communities. “Never give up on what you believe in, and be responsible with your life. Do not accept failure before attempting doing something.”

Later on in the day, the elderly were involved in many sporting games to promote healthy living.

Date:09 November 2015

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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