BLM TALK SHOW TOPICS (June to July)
The BLM Talk Show team recently traveled to the central region on a shooting trip and returned with a total of 9 shows for the month of June and July. Below is a summary of the topics shot.
The Impact of Fishermen Emigration on HIV and AIDS along the Lake – Salima
Areas close to the Lake in Salima have a higher HIV prevalence rate than the rest of the District. In most villages, the population of women is twice that of men. This steams from the fact that most men are fishermen and a lot often they travel to Lilongwe to sale fish. A good number of these fishermen do not return home immediately after their sales; they marry and only return home when the cash has run out.
In a related development, a good number of fishermen trek to South Africa under the pretext of buying better fishing equipment. Very few of these fishermen return home.
To this effect therefore, most women in the villages are without husbands and food to feed their children. These women resort to trading sex for food and money; and most well-to-do men have more than two wives. This practice is contributes to the high HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in the district and the country as a whole.
The BLM Talk Show picked up the issue for debate and brought together Chiefs, women, fishermen, HIV and AIDS campaign activists, and the local masses to discuss what could be best done to reduce the practice.
The Impact of Tobacco Farming on HIV and AIDS – Dowa
Tobacco is Malawi’s major foreign exchange earner and the nation’s pride. An adverse HIV and AIDS impact on the industry has got far reaching consequences, and a direct and deplorable bearing on our economy, in particular.
Dowa is one of the Districts in the Country with a relatively high number of tobacco farms. BLM Talk Show clew visited the District to establish the impact of the pandemic and found two shocking revelations:
- Most farmers get new wives after every tobacco sale and return to their original wives only when they run out of cash. The real wives toil so much on the farm but never see the benefits; sex workers reap the benefits on their behalf.
- A good number of farmers marry more than three (3) wives in order to ease work on the farm. The idea behind being reducing costs; food and clothing to these women surfaces – no need for a salary.
The BLM Talk Show talked to the farmers themselves, women, chiefs, and farmer clubs like Nasfam to discuss the problem and empower the local people with a way forward.
The Impact of Early Marriages and Sex Work Immigration to on HIV and AIDS - Kasungu
An overwhelming majority of girls in Kasungu get lured with the “High Life” tobacco farmers promise and get married at very tender ages. These marriages, unfortunately barely last a year after just bearing one child. The girls then resort to prostitution.
Sex workers from other districts also flock to Kasungu during tobacco sales to go to go to bed with the farmers who offer up to K10, 000 for sex.
These two factors make Kasungu one of the districts with high HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in the country.
The BLM Talk Show debated the issue with the local in habitants.
Parenting and Prostitution in Nchesi – Lilongwe
Young girls in Nchesi, Lilongwe are becoming household bread winners by the dozens, not because guardians are dying but because parents have run of income generating ideas and have resorted to trading their children for sex.
Parents in the area are encouraging prostitution to look after their families. What is most sad about the situation is that most of the young girls forced into the situation are orphans.
BLM brought onto the Talk Show Chiefs, leaders of different intervention groups, parents and the youth to discuss the issue.
The World AIDS Candlelight Memorial – Civil Stadium
The World AIDS Candlelight Memorial is an international event held once a year in honour of those that have died of AIDS. Since it inception (1983), the main event has been hosted by the United States.
Global Health Council, an organization that organizes the event, decided to hold the 25th Anniversary of the event outside the US.
Malawi was chosen to host this major event as country hard hit by the pandemic and most importantly as a country that has taken great strides in mitigating the impact of the pandemic; government and the private sector coordination appears on truck.
The BLM Talk Show covered the event and talked to National AIDS Commission Director, Government Officials and various stake holders on some of the major achievements Malawi has done what major challenges lay ahead in the fight.
Child Trafficking and HIV and AIDS - Mchinji
There is so much child trafficking in Mchinji. Farmers who own big farms go into villages and entice boys and girls as young as 8 years to go and work on their farms. The farmers promise the little ones between 8 and 10 thousand Malawi Kwacha as an annual pay. This income intrigues the young and they run away from their families to the farms.
The kid are subjected to hard labour, some of do not get their pay at all; others end up even getting killed. And most worrying is sexual exploitation. BLM Clinic in Mchinji has treated a number of STI cases among sung vulnerable youth.
Salvation Army has got a home where it rehabilitates children who have been rescued from such victimization.
The BLM Talk Show team visited the site and talked to the programme manager, we also talked to World Vision officers, BLM Clinician, Chiefs, farmers and legal practitioners.
The Dedza Boarder and Prostitution – Dedza
The Malawi-Mozambique boarder in Dedza has attracted so many sex workers and is increasing the prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS in the district. Talk Show talked to truck drivers, sex workers, ordinary inhabitants, chiefs and NGOs on the various programmes running in the district and their impact.
Small Businesses and Sex Work – Ntcheu
Ntcheu is one of the districts flouring with so many small scale business, particularly agricultural produce, as it is along the M1 road. Business men and women flock to the “Boma” from different villages to do business. Most of these spend days away from their families and start having sex with other people whose sexual history they don’t even know.
The BLM Talk Show talked to the business people, sex workers, ordinary people and various NGOs on the issue.
Bicycle Taxis, Sex Workers and HIV Prevalence Rate – Balaka
Balaka is one of the Districts with a high number of bicycle taxis. These taxis operate even late at night, transporting sex workers to their homes and different beer drinking joints.
More often than not, the sex workers hire the taxis when they don’t even have money and ask the taxi operators to have sex with them as their pay. This practice is growing in Balaka by the day and becoming a great concern to the families of the taxi operators.
BLM Talk Show picked up the issue for debate, and talked to different groups involved.
Women from Mangochi
A lot men from Mangochi leave for South Africa to look for jobs leaving their wives behind for years. This subjects both spouses to HIV and AIDS. Talk Show featured some of the spouses.
CD4 Count
BLM featured Doctors to talk about CD4 count, a term most people are not familiar with.
A Boy Sleeping With a Neighbour
A 16 year old boy from Zomba had parents divorced. He opted to put with the father after the divorce. A couple of months down the line, the father married another wife. The step-mother started torturing the boy would force him out the house throughout the night.
A neighbour, (a divorced woman) started offering him shelter during such times, and started having sex with him. He was found with STIs. BLM brought the story on Talk Show
2 Ex-Drug Addicts from Sky-Way Collage
BLm Talk Show featured two boys from Sky Way Bussiness College who were drug addicts and lived a careless life under the influence of the banned substance. The boys are now reformed and living normal lives.
SHOWS FOR NOVEMBER 2007
CHINAMWALI & HIV - Chikwawa
Chinamwali a cultural practice with a lot of sexual activities, that subject the youth to HIV and AIDS, is still practiced in a lot of villages in Chikwawa – Nsanje Districts. The practice is done secretly and most parents encourage or force their children to go through chinamwali.
Zyade & HIV -11th November
“Zyade” (a Sena term) is another ritual practiced in Chikwawa District. Zyade is where a couple together with their relations has to goes through a sexual cleansing process 9 months after giving birth. The couple and their relations are not supposed to have sex for a number of months.
Kulowa kufa & HIV – Ngabu
This is a process aimed at driving away spirits of a dead spouse. Under this arrangement, the remaining spouse is forced to sleep with another man or man to stop his/her dead spouse’s spirits from tormenting them.
Creating Opportunities - Blantyre
Most youth have failed to create income generating opportunities for themselves and have ended up being promiscuous and contracting HIV and AIDS. Talk Show talked to youth that have succeeded in creating opportunities for themselves.
SHOWS FOR DECEMBER 2007
Child Headed Family (HIV had wiped both parents) – Blantyre
The children had no choice but to start living alone and Violet, 21, becomes family head. she has a big responsibility to look after her siblings at the same time going to school. Abstinence has played a big role in Violet’s life.
After the show was telecasted on TVM a marketing company from Lilongwe donated K10, 000 and other people also gives bags of maize.
Disability and HIV
Ireen is a Chikwawa based physically impaired young lady (with a hunch bug). She runs businesses; she is self-reliant and able to mix with many people even in entertainment places. Unlike most physically impaired persons, she accesses a lot of information on HIV and AIDS, and is very knowledgeable about such issues.
Christmas visit to orphanage centre
Christmas with children whose parents died of AIDS related illness and some kids are on ARVs.
The Entertainment Talk Show - Show 30th December
The Talk show invited artists to entertain the people on the end of the year ( the artists included Wendy Harawa, Bango Tanks , H 69 and the G force ) they were asked question about their plan for the new year and also about what they feel in the fight of HIV/AIDS. They were also asked why most artists don’t leave by example.
SHOWS FOR JANUARY 2008
Women with Jailed Spouses - 6th January
A number of women meet problems when their husbands have been jailed. They are proposed by a lot of men and they lack a lot of things in life. BLM Talk Show featured a number of women from Zomba with husbands in prison to get first hand experiences.
Cedric Nankhwumwa
A football player who had a longer career and also played at professional level; BLM featured him on the Talk Show to find out about the lives of celebrity footballers and how behaviour of soccer players influences the youth. He also had a test during the show.
A Changed life after spending 3 years prostituting
The Talk Show featured a young lady who has been prostituting for three years but has now stopped, has gone for test and counselling and is into business.
Woman Tester
A Balaka based young man scouts sex workers for other men at a fee and also tests the women at times to be sure he scouts the best for his clients. Talk Show talked to him and one woman who is his usual client.
SHOWS FOR FEBRUARY 2008
The Plight of Self Boarding Students - Rumphi
In Rumphi we covered the above topic. There are so many schools (both government and private) with no boarding facilities in the district.
Students, as such, tend to have problems with when ever they run out of cash and girls resort to prostituting. Some girls get free relish from the market in exchange for sex, others operate from men homes just to so that they can get all their needs throughout the term.
We managed to talk to chiefs, villagers, headmaster, and students. One student, aged 15, confessed to be HIV positive – contracted through such behaviour but is still prostituting.
Teen Age Prostitution – Mzuzu
There is so much teen age prostitution in Mzuzu. And we were talking to the community and the young girls on the factors that lead them into prostitution.
Fishermen and Prostitution – Nkhatabay
There are a lot of fishermen in the district and women coax them into sex in exchange for fish and cash. And what is more, these fishermen spend days at the lake and this also exposes their wives promiscuity.
Sex with Whites – Nkhatabay
Young black men, especially Rastamen, often have unprotected sex with white ladies who often to tour the district by ILALA. We talk to the ratsas, and some other people. We also had a boat ride and swimming competition.
SHOWS FOR APRIL 2008
- We featured a story a Young Man Living with HIV and AIDS and has a Cancerous leg. This 28-year old was diagnosed positive in 2008. He was diagnosed positive when he was 19 and has been on ARVs since then. He confessed living a risky life when he was a teen-ager and advised fellow youth not to fall in the same trap.
- Easter Show: The show featured the role of the church, especially choirs in spreading HIV and AIDS. Different Choirs were featured in the programme.
- Truck Drivers: So much has been said about truck drivers, about their promiscuous behaviour, and how they are contributing to the spread of the virus. BLM reached out to the Truck drivers to hear their side of the story.
- Truck Drivers: We continued featuring the stories of the Truck drivers.
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