While politicians continue to debate the finer points of anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment, Durban’s McCord Hospital is helping HIV positive people to earn a living and raise money to pay for their own treatment.  

 A Durban choir has brought new meaning to the medieval notion of “singing for your supper” by literally singing so that members of an HIV positive self-help group can  get anti-retroviral treatment.

Late last year the Sinikithemba choir, made up entirely HIV positive choristers, cracked the overseas market after performing with a US ensemble. They toured the States on invitation of the Church World Service putting a human face to AIDS and connecting with an number of projects in that country that now assist with fundraising.

In February this year the choir shared the stage with former US president Bill Clinton at the Retrovirus Conference in Boston. In one hasty weekend before going to Boston, the choir cut a CD and 4000 of these were distributed to delegates. Proceeds from their appearance and the CDs generated an income for the singers and raised much-needed funds for the Sinikithemba Centre (isiZulu for “we give hope”).

The centre was originally established at McCord Hospital in Durban about eight years ago in recognition that people with HIV did not only need medical treatment but also emotional support.

As the HIV/AIDS epidemic progressed and McCord gained a reputation as a place where people with HIV are treated with dignity and compassion, the hospital was flooded with destitute patients.

“AIDS patients often come to McCord having depleted their money at different medical centres, on traditional healers and private doctors. Much money is used because the person does not want to face the reality of their HIV status,” says McCord superintendent Dr Helga Holst.

The hospital, which gets a state subsidy that covers little over 40% of its costs, could not afford to treat people for free. But neither did staff want to turn them away. So a novel partnership was started in which Sinikithemba helped people to make money, and part of the money made went towards covering their medical treatment.

“We started small-scale income generation projects, mainly beadwork to begin with,” says Holst, a quietly determined person who runs a tight, well-organised operation.

“In the beadwork project, the women involved buy the beads and make items that have been ordered. Sinikithemba then buys the items from them, and sells them at a small profit. This profit goes into a kitty for treating Sinikithemba members,” says Holst.

Members are defined as those who attend support group meetings regularly and come to the centre for their medical treatment. About 300 people are involved in the beadwork project while between 80 and 100 people attend support group meetings each week.

Aside from beadwork, there is also a sewing project run by an enthusiastic Lee Hassan. Eleven women work on government-donated machines and get paid an hourly rate as well as per item completed. “We have made the uniforms of the security guards and are making the catering staff uniforms. We also make Madiba shirts and small items for households, like peg bags, oven gloves and duvet sets.”

Twenty people are also being trained as bakers, and have been contracted by the hospital to supply its confectionery needs.

But not everyone is cut out for beadwork, sewing and baking, as social work student Zaheera Jinnah found when she started doing her internship with Sinikithemba.

“I found that none of the people coming to the centre were computer-literate. They were scared to even touch the keyboard in case they made an explosion, but they wanted computer skills,” says the energetic Jinnah.

She managed to get local IT companies to train 15 people free of charge. Ten computers have also been donated to the computer centre being set up at Sinikithemba, which will be maintained by a local IT company.

“The response of the 15 people has been amazing. They really feel empowered and we hope to get all the support group members trained. Then we want to expand and train hospital staff and others, and use that money to pay for antiretroviral treatment,” says Jinnah.

Anti-retroviral treatment is the centre’s biggest challenge as it is so expensive – currently costing around R500 per person a month.

And now that the Sinikithemba choir has found an overseas audience, the notion of raising such funds does not seem so far-fetched.

“They were a real hit. They put a human face to AIDS and really connected particularly with the African-American community. A number of projects are now fundraising for Sinikithemba and this money is starting to come in,” Holst says about the choir.

So far, five members of the choir are on the antiretroviral drugs. Four choir members have also been employed by Sinikithemba as counsellors for the new patients that keep arriving at the centre’s door.

The sudden expansion of the income-generating projects meant that tighter management of funds was needed. The centre has subsequently set up a Section 21 company, the Sinikithemba Development Programme Company, to control funds raised from the CD and other projects.

Two members of the choir have been given intensive training by a local businessman on project management.

To keep pace with developments, McCord raised enough money to buy a house across the road from the hospital. The former colonial mansion, with stained glass and gleaming wooden floors, is due to be opened next week (31 July) and is a shining example of what teamwork between caring health workers, people living with HIV and local Durban businesses and generous foreign funders are able to achieve.

* Sinikithemba’s choir is available to perform at a reasonable rate, while sewn items and beadwork can also be ordered. For further details, contact 031 268 5728.