The importance of partnerships between marginalised communities and support agencies (from the public sector, private sector and civil society) is a pillar of HIV & AIDS management policy. Such alliances are notoriously difficult to promote and sustain. The thesis presents the findings from a longitudinal, qualitative case study of a project seeking to build partnerships to facilitate local responses to HIV & AIDS in a remote rural community in South Africa. The partnership aimed to empower community stakeholders to lead HIV-prevention and AIDS-care efforts through the support of local government departments, NGOs and the private-sector, and make public services more responsive to local needs. I highlight the value of building longterm relationships with, and ownership of the project by community stakeholders, i/ by involving community stakeholders in partnership building and facilitation from the very beginning of the process, and; ii/ through a compliance with, and respect for community protocols and norms in the process of entry, community engagement, and partnership facilitation. I illustrate how features of the local public sector environment have actively worked against effective community empowerment and partnership. These include a rigid hierarchy, poor communication between senior and junior health professionals, lack of accountability, limited social development skills, and the demoralisation and/or exhaustion of public servants dealing with multiple social problems in under-resourced settings. I outline the obstacles that have prevented private-sector involvement, suggesting a degree of scepticism about the potential for private-sector contributions to development in remote areas. The most effective partners have been the NGOs — run by committed individuals with a keen understanding of social-development principles, flexible working styles and a willingness to work hard for small gains. Despite the challenges, the partnership has achieved many positive outcomes, including the formalization of the partnership and its institutionalization within a permanent government structure. I outline these achievements and discuss the essential role played by an external change agent in facilitating the process of partnership building. I conclude with eight key lessons learnt and recommendations which emerged out of the research. Firstly, partnerships are embedded in and influenced by the contexts within which they are located; secondly, stakeholder organizations must create an enabling environment to encourage and sustain partnership participation; thirdly, capacity building and empowerment of partners is crucial for ensuring ownership and sustainability of the partnership; fourthly, partnerships within resource (human and physical) poor contexts like Entabeni, where skills and resources are scarce, require the services of a dedicated, skilled facilitator or external change agent; fifth, partnership building needs to be guided by regular monitoring and evaluation and a systematic documentation of the process; sixth, relationships based on trust are a central pillar of partnerships; seventh, partnerships are as much about individuals as they are about communities and organizations, and; finally, partnerships can and do work, in-spite of the many challenges that may be encountered. of partnerships between marginalised communities and support / Thesis (Ph.D.)-Universtiy of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This thesis begins by outlining the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Southern African region, together with the challenges it poses to the Church in Southern Africa. The thesis will therefore reflect on a selected number of complex social issues related to the retrovirus. These issues include poverty, gender, the breakdown of family systems, orphans, stigma and discrimination. Also included is a theological reflection to the HIV/AIDS pandemic together with the related social issues. As the thesis builds up, I will develop a contextual approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis which I will also pose as a challenge for the Southern African Church to consider in its strategies in the battle against the retrovirus. In developing this contextual approach indigenous resources and assets which includes talents, skills, gifts, and values, especially those embedded in the ubuntu-hunhu way of life will be considered. Guiding this reflection and exploration into the capacity of ubuntu-hunhu way of life together with the resources and assets embedded in it and the development of the contextual approach will be the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

This thesis focuses on the concerns of rural and urban women living with HIV/AIDS in the Walvis Bay area. The development of effective pastoral care and counselling models in the study of Walvis Bay women is the approach of this thesis. It is an interpretation, from a women's perspective within the Walvis Bay tradition of their status, role, culture and experiences. The purpose of my research, is to try to address women's crisis of HIV/AIDS through pastoral care and counselling. It is my hope that the women of Walvis Bay area will regain their dignity, that they will be empowered and the interaction between healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling models will be implemented as a tool to deal with their crisis. Although this study focuses on the women in the Walvis Bay area, the questions and sufferings concerning the issue of HIV/AIDS is similar in the rest of Namibia. The main emphasis of this study is in chapter five and six. Chapter five discuss reconciliation and the dynamics of the process of social reconciliation with the women in Walvis Bay contracted with HIV/AIDS. This includes the uncovering of the truth of HIV/AIDS, the destroying of the narratives of lies and the establishment of the reality of the spread of the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Chapter six discusses the need for effective models of pastoral care and counselling for urban and rural women in Walvis Bay. By doing so it will transform relationships in trust, harmony and peace. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

This study explores the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on the elderly in the Ugu North District, KwaZulu-Natal. This study employs qualitative methods using in-depth interviews. The sample consisted of 6 females and 6 males aged 60 and above. The respondents were all black. The respondents either had lived or were living with an HIV/AIDS infected individual in their household. The findings of the study indicate that the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the younger generation places a huge social and economic burden on the elderly people, especially those who are caring for HIV infected individuals in their households. The findings of the study show that the elderly are carrying a huge burden because of HIV/AIDS. Elderly men and women revealed the trauma of seeing their children dying in front of them. Providing treatment to a sick person, losing a child, loss of income, stigma and discrimination and caring for grandchildren were some of the difficulties faced by elderly people. The results of the study suggest that elderly people should be a key focus of HIV/AIDS discourse. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

The Constitution of South Africa outlines the way in which the country should be run and lays down different levels of government and their powers. Most importantly it sets out a list of human rights in the Bill of Rights. These rights belong equally to all individuals. Stigmatization and discrimination of people on the basis of their HIV status is a violation of their basic human rights. In South Africa a person can have his or her rights upheld in court if they are violated or threatened by an individual or institution (whether the state, private company or any other organization). Enforcing the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and/or their families, as well as countering and redressing discriminatory action, is a matter of accessing existing procedural, institutional or other resources that comprise the societal gains of democracy. However, the biggest challenge currently has to do with ordinary people's lack of awareness about their rights, and this pertains particularly to those millions of South Africans living with HIV/AIDS. This study sets out to examine the knowledge levels of para-legals currently advocating for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and/or their families in KwaZulu Natal. With an infection rate estimated to be in the region of 36% of the adult population, it is essential that providers of legal advise and advocacy in this province have sound grasp of HIV/AIDS issues. It should be noted that this study attempts to move beyond a documentation of knowledge by exploring what such para-legals perceive their actual needs for more effective management of HIV/AIDS to be. The study seeks to make recommendations towards a better and more relevant training of para-legals, one that is needs-driven and more attuned to the context and lived realities of the people whom they seek to serve. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

The aim of this research was to investigate the different methods incorporating HIV/AIDS education into formal academic curricula at the University of Natal. This research aimed to flag up examples of ways of incorporating HIV/AIDS into the different curricula, and also to look at some of the obstacles the different academic departments may have encountered in trying to incorporate such education into their curricula. I had guessed that a variety of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes, initiatives and education were being undertaken at the university and that on the whole students and staff were well aware of the basic information regarding the disease. What I wanted to look at in particular was how the university was responding to HIV/AIDS within the curricula. Were academic curricula being altered in any way to allow for the impact of HIV/AIDS and how was this being undertaken? The key issues to be addressed and the main questions posed by this research were: • What are the different ways that HIV/AIDS education is incorporated into academic curricula? • What do lecturers consider to be the specific links between their subject matter and HIV/AIDS? • What is the purpose of such education? Why are lecturers choosing to incorporate HIV/AIDS education into their programmes? • What aspects of HIV/AIDS are being covered within the programmes? • How do lecturers attempt to get students to relate disciplinary knowledge to HIV/AIDS in order to inform future decision-making? • What are the main positive features of the current HIV/AIDS programmes being undertaken? • What are the main difficulties/concerns encountered by the different schools in incorporating HIV/AIDS education into the curricula? Through examining different schools within the university it was hoped to come up with a variety of different and innovative ways that HIV education can be incorporated into the curricula. This research started with a search of the HIVAN database to find lecturers with programmes that are undertaking some form of HIV/AIDS education. From this initial search I gained a number of contacts, who were then able to direct me to further contacts within the university. I ended up with an initial sample of seventeen lecturers based across fourteen schools or programmes and spanning seven faculties. The sample included lecturers from the faculties of Community & Development, Human Sciences, Law, Management Studies, Engineering, Medical Sciences, and Education. (See appendix I) For this research I used a number of methods of data collection. The first data collection method used was to carry out semi-structured interviews with the lecturers in the sample. This method was the prime method and the vast majority of the data was collected using this method. The following methods were mainly used for triangulation purposes although a number of new insights were made from these. The second method used then was to review printed material made available to me from a number of the lecturers interviewed. This was mainly course outlines but in a small number of cases also included reports on the HIV/AIDS modules. The third method used was to observe a number of the chosen programmes and following this observation to interview students about the HIV/AIDS education. (See appendix 11 Interview Questionnaires) Initially I have presented the findings of this research by documenting and summarizing the responses to each research question. In order to make for an easy overview of the findings for the reader I have drawn up a table under each research question, these tables list the responses to the research questions. I then go on to look at the different models this research has shown for teaching HIV/AIDS education. I have taken each model in turn and shown how it works in practice through giving a detailed description of the example cases. Following this I have attempted to outline the main features of these HIV/AIDS programmes and to document the main insights emerging. Looking back at the literature reviewed in this field, I have then attempted to review the responses in terms of what was said in the literature regarding HIV/AIDS education. I have also outlined the questions and surprises brought to light by this study and have attempted to draw some conclusions regarding the teaching of HIV/AIDS within academic curricula. Finally, in the light of the findings, I have made recommendations for future work in this field. It was impossible from this study to say which programmes work better than others with regards to the teaching of HIV/AIDS education. What I have merely attempted to do is to describe the methods and approaches used at present in order that others wishing to undertake similar programmes may review these. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

My study is an exploration of four women educators' experiences of living "openly" with HIV in their respective workplaces. All four women were from the different geographical demarcations ofthe Ethekweni region. I used in-depth interviews , as outlined by Seidman (1999), to learn more about the experiences of the four women. The key findings of my study were (l) the evidence of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV, (2) the inclusion of people living with HIV, shown by employers and colleagues and (3) the emergence of a new generation that is better informed, receptive and supporti ve of people living with HIV. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005.

All over the world HIV/ AIDS has created a new stigma and discrimination, bigotry and ignorance that have resulted in a new class of outcasts. AIDS 2000 will break the silence on this affront to human dignity. This was the theme of the XIII Annual AIDS Conference held in Durban in 2000. Fours years later, there is little evidence of this reality. There are communities of people living with HIV/ AIDS that still live lives cloaked in secrecy. HIV/ AIDS is not losing momentum. HIV/ AIDS has infected 50 million, and killed 16 million since the epidemic began (The Mercury,19 May 2000). In Africa, HIV positive women now outnumber infected men by two million. Recognition of the potentially devastating effects the disease could have, took place very slowly, in Africa. It is only since the middle to late nineteen eighties that a general understanding has established itself in society of how imp ortant the fight against HIV/ AIDS will be. In South Africa the dramatic transition to democracy in the early nineteen nineties meant that political considerations had to be given priority. In 1997, the KwaZulu Natal (KZN) cabinet launched an initiative to bring public attention to the effects the epidemic would have on our society. In 1999 this was followed up with the Cabinet's AIDS Challenge 2000 strategy which was to have been be funded to the extent of R20 million per year (The Mercury, 19 May 2000). HIV / AIDS has established itself at pandemic levels in the province of KZN (The Mercury, 19 May 2000). Uno fficial figures of people living with HIV/ AIDS stand at 40%. This has huge implications for education as it is stated that there will be at least 750 000 orphans- children with no parents in KZN by 2010 (The Mercury, 19 May 2000). This means that educators who are already burdened with responsibility will have to respond in direct and indirect ways to the pandemic. The researcher in this study has lived in Umhlatuzana, a suburb on the outskirts of Chatsworth for the past twenty years. I teach History and Life skills at a secondary school in Chatsworth. Since the introduction of Outcomes Based Education in 2000, HIV/ AIDS has become a part of the Life Orientation programme. My interest in HIV/ AIDS grew with the launch of the Government initiated Tirisano project - an HIV/ AIDS awareness initiative . As HIV-AIDS coordinator, my duties included teaching learners about HIV/ AIDS awareness and about the causes and prevention of HIV/ AIDS through responsible behaviour. Accordingly, I have set up a school HIV/ AIDS committee made up of both learners and staff, drafted and implemented a School AIDS Policy and held workshops at school. As the HIV/ AIDS coordinator I have attended many training workshops and seminars in and around Chatsworth. This exposure to issues concerning HIV/ AIDS, together with available literature has led me to conclude that HIV/ AIDS is still very much a taboo subject, even among so called 'enlightened educators'. Due to the scarcIty of available literature regarding Indians! living with HIV/ AIDS and according to The Mail and Guardian, because media representations and billboards depict Black, White or Coloured but no Indian repr esentations of people living with HIV/ AIDS, many Indians still think that it is someone else's disease, or 'that sickness' (02 December 2003). While stud ying the module 'Diversity and Education' at Masters level, I began to understand that being an HIV/ AIDS coordinator was much more than teaching learners about HIV / AIDS awarene ss of prevention and modes of transmission. The module 'Diversity and Education' was designed to develop a deeper understanding of the critical issues and skills required to create safe and inclusive schools for learners and educators who are living with and are affected by HIV/ AIDS. Through the Diversity and Education module I developed a raised understanding of the negative impact of HIVism on the lives of people living with HIV/ AIDS. According to Francis, HIVism refers to the negativetreatment meted out to people living with HIV/ AIDS (2004). Altho ugh the Department of Education has to be applauded in creating an awareness of the epidemic, there is concern that an important area of HIV/ AIDS has been neglected: The issues regarding human rights and HIV/ AIDS. It was especially during the Diversity and Education sessions togeth er with related literature that I discovered that globally, many women have negative experiences of living with HIV/ AIDS. An article that appeared in the Sunday Tribune, Herald (07 December 2003) prompted my research . It was a stolY of an Indian woman, Theresa Naidoo, who was HIV positive. In her story she communicates her experiences of betrayal, prejudice and discrimination. Her sto ry has inspired the research er to explore the experiences of other Indian women living with HIV/ AIDS. The researcher contac ted the Chatswo rth HIV/ AIDS coordinator, Kogie David, who is based at the Chatsworth Child and Family Welfare Centre . She coordinates the HIV/ AIDS counselors in the Chatsworth district. The researcher explained the nature of her research study and was informed that there were many women like Theresa, living with HIV/ AIDS. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This research emerges within the context of rapidly rising levels of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection amongst young adults and the escalation of deaths from the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This study critically examines the commonly used theories and models that guide HIV/AIDS communication campaigns. However, it notes that the broad ranging theories and models used during HIV/AIDS preventative and care campaigns emphasise communication linearity and individualism and therefore fail to acknowledge culture. In view of the multiplicity of cultural and language groups that exist in South Africa, culture plays a crucial role in HIV/AIDS communication interventions. Failure to acknowledge the cultural context in campaign theory has various negative implications. One is that, because these theories and models are linear, they are sender-oriented. The recipients are therefore unable to identify with the message as they are divorced from the context of its production. Furthermore, because of a lack of engagement by the recipient in the development of messages, retention of knowledge is minimal and this leads to a lack of acceptance of the message. Clearly then, there exists a need for these theories and models to be re-articulated so that they are less linear and individualistic, but rather more flexible so that they may be adapted for application within various cultural contexts. This study suggests that one of the ways of alleviating campaign linearity and including culture is by borrowing Paulo Freire's (1990) underlying principles of participation and incorporating them into communication campaign theory in the form of audience participation. Communication campaign theory would therefore include audience participation as a central component during its planning, implementation and evaluation phases. The appropriateness of this suggestion is demonstrated by applying it to and evaluating a HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeted at young adults at a tertiary institution in KwaZulu Natal. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

his study discusses the benefits of Popular Participatory Theatre (PPT) as a research method with which to investigate the culture of silence around HIV/AIDS issues in Malealea Valley, Lesotho. Popular Participatory Theatre provided the means by which the community named, reflected on and initiated action with regard to their problems. This research will contribute to the growing body of research which aims to uncover effective modes of communication which could lead to behaviour change. This study employed the qualitative research methodology. This was in recognition that qualitative research involves in-depth understanding of human behaviours and the reasons that govern that behaviour, and looks at the reasons behind various aspects of behaviour, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. Qualitative research seeks meaning rather than generality and contributes to theory development (Miller et al, 2003:192-3). In-depth interviews and focus groups were also used as instruments for data collection. The findings of the study indicate that socio-economic issues such as language, cultural practices, the way that Basotho are brought up and power dynamics around patriarchy contribute to the culture of silence. The Malealea Theatre Project helped the Malealea community to re-examine some of their beliefs and cultural practices. The findings also indicate that popular participatory theatre is an effective research method that can be used to collect data while also leading to community action. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.