Abstract
M.Phil.
In my view, the battle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the greatest
challenge that we face as South Africans today. The harsh reality is that
there is no vaccine or cure against HIV/AIDS, nor is there an immediate
prospect of one. For this reason, I believe that alternative actions need to
be taken in order to curtail the further spread of the disease. The need for
such efforts is particularly great in the rural areas of South Africa, which is
where large portions of people suffering from HIV/AIDS come from.
Furthermore, I would assert that education offers the most important and
valuable means of contributing to our fight against the further spread of
HIV/AIDS.
It is upon my involvement in an HIV/AIDS education initiative, which
focused specifically on de-stigmatising HIV/AIDS in the rural community of
Rammulotsi in Viljoenskroon, that I base the above view. The central aim
of this inquiry was to critically inquire into the successes and failures of
this education initiative and further determine the reasons for these, in
order to ascertain how the project could be improved upon in the future.
The entry point for the aforementioned HIV/AIDS education initiative had
at its roots the precepts of emancipation, transformation and action. Thus
the platform for developing a research endeavour interfaced within the
theoretical framework of Transformative Learning Theory had been
created.
The research strategy that appeared to be best suited for addressing an
inquiry of this nature was that of Action Research. It has utilised the four
v
major moments of the continuous cycle or spiral of planning, acting,
observing, reflecting. However, the main focus of this study pertained to
the observing and reflecting stages of the cycle, as the planning and
acting stages had already occurred.
Additionally, in keeping with the principles of Action Research, the study
was conducted from a qualitative perspective and the methods of data
collection utilised included participant observation, open-ended
questionnaires and semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The participants
of this. inquiry comprised nine adult community caregivers of the Hospice
Association in Viljoenskroon, who reside in Rammulotsi, as well as my cofacilitator
in the HIV/AIDS education initiative.
The findings of this inquiry indicate that the HIV/AIDS education initiative
embarked upon in the rural community of Rammulotsi, Viljoenskroon did
succeed in realising the aims it set out to achieve. Furthermore, through
the observation and reflection processes engaged in during the course of
this inquiry two significant determinations were made. In the first place, it
emerged that the participants' negative preconceptions and attitudes
towards HIV/AIDS underwent a transformation. Secondly, the findings
revealed additional notable issues for consideration in relation to future
planning for the HIV/AIDS education initiative, thereby ensuring the
sustainability of this project.