The Human Development Student Association (HSDA) will give students the chance to ask questions, be informed and provide support for AIDS-stricken South Africa tonight at a 5 p.m. free screening of “Angels in the Dust” at the Beach Auditorium.
The film follows the work of therapist Marion Cloete, who founded the Botshabelo orphanage. Director Louise Hogarth will participate in a Q&A session after the screening.
Dr. Pamela Roberts, faculty adviser to the HDSA, stated that although people hear about the AIDS epidemic in South Africa — often due to celebrity visits covered by the media — “this is a concentrated look at a real example of what’s going on.”
“It’s wiping out families, teachers, health care workers,” Roberts said. “A whole generation has been wiped out in South Africa. It’s stunning.”
Dr. Judith Stevenson, a professor with the human development department, stated that one of the major reasons for choosing “Angels in the Dust” as the screening choice was the bracelet campaign that was started as a result of the film.
The DO Ubuntu Bracelet campaign provides employment opportunities for South Africans. Each bracelet costs $15, and the profits raised help fund African orphanages.
“It’s fine to be educated,” Stevenson said. But the fact that this film is attached to the campaign “allows everyone who views the film to support the children in a practical way and even support the women working.”
Stevenson continued, “It has an additional social component that other documentaries might not provide.”
Sara Frandsen, a senior human development major and treasurer of HDSA, stated that seeing the film and donating to the campaign is an important step in becoming informed about how to make a difference.
“I want to try and give back to the community,” Frandsen said. “For anybody, it gives a sense of a good feeling – that you’re actually helping out. It’s taken me a long time to realize it’s important to give back to the community, even the international community.”
In a Country Progress Report released in March by the Republic of South Africa (accessible through the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), it is estimated that 1,577,200 children are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS-related circumstances.
According to Stevenson, while some families would have typically taken in orphans, they are now too “overburdened.”
“Heads of households are now 12, 13, 14 … With younger siblings trying to cope,” Stevenson said.
Roberts will also be teaching a course on death and dying in South Africa this summer, and has also organized a campaign to help gather pens and donations to help provide children with school supplies.
“It’s all sort of gone together as a package in thinking about South Africa,” Roberts said.
