The CBS Introduction Workshop with URC Dimbaza, held at Lekkeroord Christian Campsite in East London from March 11-13, 2024, was facilitated by Rev. Siyabulela Potwana, Rev. Simphiwe Ntshabalala, and Mpho Mbeki.
This workshop included 30 unemployed young people from Dimbaza, trained by CABSA for an awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS. Dimbaza township, part of the Buffalo City district, is among the top three districts in the Eastern Cape with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence. The workshop aimed to address the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS by exploring its causes and working to eliminate its negative effects.
The group chose HIV/AIDS stigma as their primary concern and focused on John 9:1-41 as their biblical theme. The facilitators provided historical context for this scripture. Participants formulated questions to analyze and connect the text with their community context. They then interpreted the text personally in relation to their circumstances.
They developed an action plan based on their interpretations, exploring what the text conveyed and how they could respond. In the SEE phase, they paralleled the Jews’ perception of blindness with their community’s view of HIV/AIDS. In the JUDGE/DISCERN phase, they contrasted the Jews’ belief in sin causing blindness with their community’s judgment of HIV/AIDS as moral failing. They discussed the Jews’ isolation of the blind man and compared it to their community’s tendency to normalize HIV/AIDS through ignorance.
From the ACT phase, like Jesus proposed alternatives to stigma, participants proposed their own strategies to combat stigma in their community. Outcomes included plans to educate, support, and provide emotional, physical, and psycho-social aid to the Dimbaza community through church ministries, schools, clinics, and community outreach events.
They outlined a strategy including an introductory event, a Candlelight memorial, an Information Sharing Day, and a Build-up event leading to World AIDS Day on December 1, 2024.