SANAC’s Sports, Arts & Culture (SAC) Sector, in partnership with Spot Media Events and Marketing – a private company that is also a member of the SAC sector – is organising a fun-filled weekend to bid farewell to the winter season.
Spring will be ushered in with the aptly named Durban Spring Break where the headline event will be a game of golf. Beach sports and a beach party will also feature. The event will take place over three days from 30 August to 1 September on the lush, splendid greens of the Beachwood Country Club in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.
While fun is the motto for the three-day event, at the heart of the activities is a mission to raise funds for the sector’s plan to deal with HIV and AIDS, TB & STIs. In line with this objective, the sector will use the event to ensure that a minimum of 20% of attendees and participants take up HIV counseling and testing (HCT) services. The sector will also distribute 10 000 condoms and promote medical male circumcision (MMC) at the event.
“Whenever there are people gathered, we must get HIV services to them without being intrusive. To win the war against HIV, TB and STIs, we must take the services to the people. We must go where the people are most comfortable and work with them to change their behaviour. This is how we will win this war in the most effective and impactful way,” says Mac Biyela, proprietor and founder of Spot Media and organiser of the Durban Spring Break. Spot Media has been hosting the Durban Spring Break since 2008. Last year the event attracted just over 10 000 people.
Mabalane Mfundisi, chairperson of the SAC Sector, says of their partnership with Spot Media: “This approach is in line with the plan of the sector to ensure that partnerships are developed with owners of various sporting and entertainment events whom we are asking to provide their platforms for direct engagement with the public to take up HIV Counselling & Testing services, medical male circumcision and condom use.”
Golf, the chief draw-card of the event, will take place on Friday, 30 August. “The event will appeal to the pockets of golfers for funding to champion the cause to reach zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination,” Mfundisi adds.
“In the words of Dr. Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS, ‘In pursuit of social justice and human dignity, we must move decisively from slogan to action. Let us unite our efforts to ensure success.’ This golf fund-raising event is an embodiment of the dream of Dr. Sidibe.
“We also want to broach a critical conversation on how best to deal with the syndrome of ‘sugar daddies’. Golfers, given their economic status, are possible ‘sugar daddies’ so it is important that they come to the party and help us find solutions to this difficult social phenomenon that is a contributing factor to new HIV infections. There must be no holy cows, we must face the problem head-on.”
James Nxumalo, Ethekwini Municipality mayor and chairperson of the Ethekwini Municipality Local AIDS Council, will also participate.
After the 18-hole golf game, the programme will lead all guests to an inspiring evening of networking, presentations on the latest HIV statistics, and dinner, which will give everyone an opportunity to share their ideas and expertise on what is to be done.