I met with several individuals at Emmanuel Haven today. That helped to give me an overview for once we begin shooting footage.
I spent time at their farm sorting tomatoes with the kindergartners. Ninety percent of them are infected with AIDS. Afterward, I stayed awhile with patients at the HIV/AIDS clinic.
Zuko, CEO of Emmanuel Haven, gave us a tour of Port Elizabeth. There are two sides to PE, one being the affluent side and the other in extreme poverty, which is called Motherwell. Over 1/3 of residents in the latter are HIV positive. Families live in shacks in slum conditions.
I will be traveling with home care givers into the slums next week to get footage of them as they care for their patients.
We also heard a lot about the Xhosa practise of male circumcision, which, by law must be performed in sanitary conditions. We met a doctor who performs them and he showed us the instruments used, which were basically sanitized razor blades (ouch)!
Next we drove into the bush where we saw a bunch of tents. Zuko informed us that's where the boys stay during their circumcision initiation into manhood. We saw several with their traditional tribal clothing and painted faces!
We took a picture but when they saw us women, they ran away screaming. Apparently, they are not supposed to see women during their special week.
That's all for now!
Jody
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