The Social Action Squad (SAS) at Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) is spreading awareness about the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) and raising funds for Art/Music/Theater Lessons for CTAOP/Mpilonhle’s mobile health units. These opportunities enrich the lives of the students visiting the mobile units, who have a 50% chance of contracting HIV/AIDS in their lifetime.

Each Mpilonhle mobile unit provides healthcare, HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, computer training, and other resources to 3,500 students per year, plus 5,000 community members when schools are not in session. Together, the fleet of mobile units reach approximately 10,000 students from 12 high schools and provides services to over 20,000 community members annually. Since 2007, Mpilonhle has provided these services to over 50,000 school-going youth and community members in the Umkhanyakude District of KwaZulu-Natal Provice, South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world.

The Umkhanyakude District is one of the poorest and least developed districts in South Africa. The area suffers from high rates of unemployment (80% of youth, and 65% of the total adult population in the District are unemployed), malnutrition (both adult obesity and childhood stunting are common), gender violence, adolescent pregnancy (approximately 25% of female high school students will become pregnant before graduation) and substance abuse. Additionally, due to limited access to clean water, Umkhanyakude still suffers periodic outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases, including schistosomiasis- a debilitating parasitic infection. The HIV infection rates are particularly dire as the district has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Adolescents growing up here have almost a 50% chance of being infected by HIV during their lifetime. More than 5% of female high-school students are infected with HIV by the time they graduate and many more will contract other sexually transmitted infections. Despite the prevalence of HIV, adolescents receive little education on strategies to avoid becoming infected, life style changes necessary if infected, and how to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Community member details not available yet.

Direct Impact of Your Project

Approximately 290 school-aged youth from Umkhanyakude benefit from Art/Music/Theater programs offered at one Mpilonhle mobile unit (one month duration)

The 290 school-aged youth attending the mobile unit also benefit from the health and social services provided at the mobile units, including:

• Health and HIV education – four one hour sessions per year
• One-hour health screening that includes HIV testing
• Computer training – four 90 minute sessions
• Primary care nursing services
• Social work services
• Sports programs
• Potable water sources

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

• Mpilonhle mobile units become a fun, positive, and enriching place to visit, encouraging students to visit an already amazing community resource
• Increased awareness of HIV/AIDS (an extreme public health issue) in Umkhanyakude, Kwa-Zulu, South Africa
• Visitors to the mobile units can also receive HIV testing and treatment
• Visitors to the mobile units can also receive computer training, increasing occupational prospects
• Visitors to the mobile units also have access to social workers, psychologists, and general health resources
• Visitors to the mobile units also have access to potable water sources