[
ABOUT US ]
Winners of the Mail and Guardian’s 2006 “Investing in the Future” Merit Award for Most Innovative Project.
Our funders include:
Read our Annual Report, 2005
The Themba HIV/AIDS Organisation has been delivering interactive performances to schools, community based organisations and businesses in Gauteng, South Africa, since February 2002. The focus of the Interactive Themba Theatre process is influencing behaviour to prevent the spread of HIV.
Themba also provides training for people in community based organisations, schools, work places, and youth correctional centres. All the training is interactive and participatory using effective action-based learning methodologies.
Over 50,000 people have benefited so far. In their interactions with the Interactive Themba Theatre (ITT) Process, participants have engaged with the “actor-educators” and facilitators. They have shared their concerns, practiced negotiating risk-free sexual encounters, taken on roles within the drama and interacted with the characters, spoken about different kinds of sexual activity, and learnt more about the risks of unsafe sex and HIV and AIDS. The actor-educators and audiences have contributed to making ITT a process specific to South African HIV and AIDS contexts.
All the work - both performances and training workshops - is based on internationally recognised behaviour change methods. In addition, the methods we use are informed by a range of theatre methodologies including Forum Theatre, dramatherapy, psychodrama, theatre games, improvisation, formal teaching methods, play devising, play directing and performance. We have a range of plays which we develop to suit different audiences and age groups, and the learning outcomes vary with the different plays. All plays (with interactive activities) cover aspects of communication, relationships, discrimination, attitudes, sexual behaviour, ignorance and stigma – within the context of HIV, AIDS, and traditional norms and myths.
We offer interactive training modules to trainers so that they can go into their communities or workplaces to put on plays about HIV, AIDS, safer sexual practices and related issues. Our training workshops can last two hours, or we can offer a full two weeks of training. We've conducted these two week modules in Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The participants learn about HIV and AIDS as well as becoming actively involved in the ITT process.
The culmination of the workshops is the creation by participants of devised plays around issues to do with HIV and AIDS. These plays carry messages which include the importance of knowing whether or not one has the HI-virus, living positively, stigma and discrimination, being a role model in one’s community, as well as encouraging the delay of first sexual encounter, engaging in safe(r) sex, and negotiation around different sexual activities.
The Executive Director is Kim Hope.
“We are all HIV+ until proven negative. Let's get tested now!"
