“Ending AIDS together”
“Ending AIDS together”
Candlelight memorial participants
Puleng Maphisa
The Institutional HIV AND AIDS Unit, in collaboration with Campus Health Clinic, hosted their AIDS Candlelight Commemoration on 16 May in memory of those who have passed on due to AIDS related diseases and giving hope to those who are infected and affected.
The theme of the day was “Ending AIDS together” and their main guests were Sello Malete the well-known SA gospel artist and Phologolo Ramothwala, who has been living openly with HIV for 20 years.
Mr Phologolo said that he discovered that he was HIV positive in 1999 while he was still a University student studying towards his postgraduate qualification in Journalism. He said that at that time a lot of people were dying from the disease. However, he managed to maintain his health in order to achieve his dreams.
“I have spent 20 years making sure that HIV does not take away anything that I wanted in my life,” said Mr Phologolo, who is the founder and editor of Positive Magazine.
VUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Irene Moutlana also urged students to lead a safe and healthy lifestyle: “It is important to keep our lives healthy. HIV AND AIDS lead to a higher number of orphans and young ladies who are victims because they are forced to engage in sex at an early age, in exchange for goods”.
The event was to remind students that they should take care and that they have a responsibility to not spread the virus, support people living with HIV and fight the stigma that surrounds the disease by educating others.