Transcript

THANDEKA: Le nkqubo yaziwa nejenge ‘€œ Bambanani women group’€ yokuzotywa komfaniselo womntu ebalisa ngobomi bakhe nendlela aphila ngayo nogawulayo ayiyeyamakhosikazi nje kuphela utsho uBabalwa Cekiso owongamele lomsebenzi eKhayelitsha. Uthi ukhona utata omnye owaqala kunye nabo kodwa warhoxa emva kwexeshana beqalile imizobo yakhe ikhona kwincadi entsha ebalisa ngambali yabo. Esizobela ngokuqulathwe kulemizobo nentsuka phi.

Translation: The Bambanani women’€™s group put this body map project together. We do not exclude men and had one male member whose painting appears in the book.

BABALWA:I-memory box isuka e-Uganda apho oomama aba HIV positive babeyenza i-memory boxes for i-family zabo ukuxelela bona ukuba babe HIV positive because ngelaxesha kwakukho lanto youkba abantu babengakwazi uku disclosure so babethatha i-memory box bayenze eze tool to disclose to ii-families zabo.

 THANDEKA:   Yintoni ekwenze ukuba uqale oku kuzotywa komzimba?

Translation: What prompted you start the body maps?

BABALWA: Into eyenzekayo yeyokuba wenza incwadi yakho wenze ibhokisi yakho eyi sort of i-diary yento yokuba ugcina, ucompile(a) izinto ocinga ukuba zibalulekile kuwe ezi close to your heart. Then ke emveni koko uJane oyi artist wa introduce(a) ibody map as enye indlela yokuba umntu a-identify(e) okuthe kwenzeka kuye sithi xa siyibiza yi narrative therapy. Libali ngokomzimba wakho ukubangabana kwenzeke ntoni in so much that umntu uzoba umzimba, utrace(a) umzimba womnye then lowo uphantsi kwakho uba sisithunzi sakho ukubaluleka kwesithunzi kuthi kuyo yonke into oyenzayo kukho umntu oku supporter(yo). So isithunzi sirepresent(a) umntu okusupporter(yo) then u-identify(e) ukuba kuphi apho ucinga   amandla akho asuka khona ubhale ngokwalonto. Ukuba ucinga mandla anjenge star ubhala iinkwenkwezi ukuba ucinga yintliziyo yakho ekunika amandla okanye intaba okanye nayiphina i-symbol. Emva koko u-identify(e) amanxeba okukhula like umzekelelo utyiwe yinja, kwakutheni waze wafumana elinxeba emva koko u-deal(ishane) namanxeba angaphakathi abantu abangawaboniyo umzekelo.

Translation: What we do is write in a book or create a box where you compile and store things that you think are close to your heart, like a diary. An artist called Jane introduced the body maps as a way of expressing ourselves, of opening up about your life. We call it narrative therapy. It’€™s a story about your body and soul. What we did was draw someone’€™s body outline and create a story around it.   We tried to put messages across by drawing stars, a mountain, or anything that you think shows where you get your strength. We draw and talk about old wounds from our childhood. For example if a dog bit you those are the visible scars. But we also make use of the visuals where we try and portray even the scars that are inside and not visible.

THANDEKA: So, ungathi le yindlela yokuphila okanye it’€™s a healing process?

Translation: Would you say this is a healing process?

BABALWA:Kum yi healing process iba touchy ngelaxesha, uba emotional after xa uyigqibile kufuneka uthethile ngayo because umsebenzi wethu ngokwenza lento is to share kuthiwa share your problems and share your stories. Your story might be similar komnye umntu okanye istory sakho singamakha omnye umntu.

Translation: This is a healing process to me because I got so emotional when I started with the project but afterwards it felt better. Our job is to share the information. As they say ‘€œshare your problems and and your stories’€. Your story night be similar to someone else’€™s story or that might be constructive to others.

 THANDEKA: Ungakhe usithathe usifundele ezinyo izinto ozenzileyo.

Translation: Can your read us through the body map work.

BABALWA: Umzekelo aba bantu lo, wakhe wanengxaki yeTB so u-identify(e) eli cala lali neTB as apha esfubeni njengokuba edraw(ishile) kukho indawo engathi ingamanzi these lines eza lines zi represent(a) lamanzi athi a-drain(wa) kuba eneTB aphinde abanee dots amachokoza wona abonakalisa ukuba lomntu ukwi treatment abonakalisa ukuba iya suppress(wa) intsholongwane. Aphinde abonakalise ngelaxesha like umzekelo lamachokoza a-brown abonisa irash endandinayo enyangekayo, inyangekile ngenxa ye treatment. Aphinde abhale i-slogan sakhe apha into yokuba ‘€œin good and in bad things, I had e-life(ini) yam I tried to be patient.      

Eyam ke i-body map ndizizobile mna inezinto ezininzi ndithathe ii-articles from uTAC like ezizinto bezisenzeka kulonyaka mostly umzekelo ‘€œsiye sane march nge 14th of February   zikwi body map yam ezonto ezo nezi zinto ezichaza ukuba 600 people ngemini bayasweleka through iHIV. So zizinto ezo eziye zandi touch(a) mna nda feel(isha) into yokuba eyam ibody map mayi focus(e) nkqo kubom obuchaza into esiphila kuyo thina njengabantu jikelele.kuba silos(a) iitshomi, si loos(a) izihlobo siloos(a) wonke umntu ngenxa yokungqongophala kwe treatment.

Translation: For example this person is talking about the time when she contracted TB.. ere she identifies her lungs. The drawing illustrates the lines the water that was drained from her body. These dots show that the person is on treatment and that the TB is being suppressed. These brown spots are an indication of the rash that was treated. She wrote a slogan ‘€œin good and bad things I had in my life I tried to be patient.’€

For my own body map I took many articles from TAC (the Treatment Action Campaign) and I decided to use the events that happened this year pertaining HIV/AIDS. For example, we had a big march in parliament on the 14th of February. I used that and also stories about the fact that about 600 HIV positive people die everyday in South Africa. These are some of the things that drew my attention. My main focus is to look at the real issues that affect us as people and the fact that there’€™s still scarcity of ARV treatment.

E-mail Thandeka Teyise

Related Links

Long Life.. positive HIV Stories’€ (Double Storey)

University of Cape Town,

Mapping Souls

Mapping our lives: Living with AIDS #164