Cassettes hammer home Aids message while at the wheel

Play on tape tries to educate about Aids Kevin mayhew Cassette tapes of a carefully scripted play with a strong message on avoiding Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are being made available free of charge to companies for their drivers. In a major drive to continue educating drivers about the dangers of STDs - particularly regarding their role in the spread of HIV/Aids - the 24-minute play, “It’s Hard To Be On The Road”, was conceived and acted by professionals with a profile in either commercial radio or television drama and is now available from the Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA). Says creator, scriptwriter and producer of the Zulu drama, Mandla S Nkuna: “I chose a storyline for the play that drivers as well as commercial sex workers who serve them, can relate to.” Two thousand of the cassettes are being made available by PPASA, the country’s largest and oldest non-governmental organisation in the field of sexual and reproductive health. PPASA information, education and communication manager, Martha Molete, said the cassette project was one of the many ways PPASA was educating men about the importance of practising safer sex and ending the abuse of women and children. “Men get infected with HIV and then pass the virus on to their partners. In addition, men often abuse women close to them by insisting on unsafe sex. The problems that begin on the road are transported into the home as well,” she explained. “PPASA encourages men to respect the rights of women and children, to say no to violence and to protect themselves and the ones they love by practising safer sex and reducing the number of sexual partners,” Molete added. First taker for the truckers’ cassettes was the Full Truck Load Division of Crossroads Distribution, which trades as Stuarts Transport and Jowells Transport. “Our company is always on the look-out for new ideas that support our ongoing fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic,” says human resources manager, Bryan Selvan. “The tapes tie in well with the Group’s HIV/Aids awareness and education programme.” During the month of August - Women’s Month - PPASA is urging all men to show their support for women and children by sending an SMS with the word “support” to cell phone number 35477 to help raise funds to help end the abuse of women and children.