13 Mar 2014

In an effort to curb the increasing HIV/AIDS prevalence, some Jwaneng residents took a step forward and decided to form a teen club.

This club targeted adolescents aged 13- 19 years, HIV positive and have fully disclosed their status. Addressing a meeting that was attended by different stakeholders recently, the adolescents services coordinator, Mr Boitumelo Ntobeledzi said the main mandate of these clubs was to empower HIV positive adolescents to build positive relationships with them by improving their self-esteem.

He added that these clubs were operational in other districts and progress had been identified within such districts. “We have partnered with 10 local hospitals and seven non-governmental organisations”, he added.

He said teen clubs had achievements, one of them being that, it was cited as a best practice in the UNICEF State of World Children’s Report 2010 and that on its own indicated success.

He concluded by saying that an increasing number of HIV positive adolescents were benefitting from the programme. In response to the proposal, the town clerk, Mr Dick Kalantle applauded the move to form such a club and said the club would be more beneficial to the community of Jwaneng.

“This is such a good move and we are looking forward to implementing this because we are worried about what is happening in Jwaneng”, he said. For her part, the District Aids Coordinator, Ms Stella Keipeile noted that they are really worried about the increasing number of teenagers who are infected with HIV/ AIDS.

She said according to the statistics as at December 2013, about 116 children were on Anti-Retroviral therapy (ARV’s) and 90 of them range between the ages of 10- 19 years. This is really worrisome hence a need for interventions of this kind.

“HIV positive adolescents who are students are faced with challenges such as stigma and isolation which end up affecting them both emotionally and psychologically. Therefore, this calls for us to intervene and this is why we have decided to form a teen club in Jwaneng”, she said.

In his closing remarks, the customary court president, Kgosi Segale Letshele applauded the initiative and said that it will indeed be a good act to initiate this programme because the town is of recent, facing challenges such as teenage pregnancy, defilement and other social ills which affect the youth. Ends