2009-1

HIV & AIDS

articles from 2009

World Renowned South African Satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys Visits Mpilonhle

– Mpilonhle News, 10 December 2009

Pieter-Dirk Uys, South Africa’s internationally renowned social and political satirist, visited Mpilonhle on 7th and 8th December at the invitation of Mpilonhle patron and supporter Ms. Charlize Theron.

Mr. Uys gave presentations at two Mpilonhle-supported high schools —Silethukukhanya on 7 December and Madwaleni on 8th December — during his visit.

Both visits focused on giving students the true, unvarnished, in your face knowledge about how to prevent themselves from getting HIV and how to live a healthy and productive life.

No euphemisms here — Mr. Uys calls a penis a penis in three different languages. And for his demonstration of condom use, he utilizes a dildo that looks like a penis — balls and all — and not like a banana.

Mr Uys speaks the language of students. Despite school holidays having already started, there were over 1000 students at Silethukukhanya and more the 500 at Madwaleni.

Encouragingly, students, parents and teachers from the private schools Felixton (http://www.felixtoncollege.co.za/index.php) and Grantleigh (http://www.grantleigh.co.za/site/default.asp) attended the event at Silethukukhanya School, providing an opportunity for students from exclusively black rural schools and white, colored and Indian students from the private schools to mix. Despite the end of apartheid 15 years ago, there remains too little social interchange – across ethnic and social lines.

Mr. Uys’ visit provided such an opportunity.

And as attested to by the rapt attention — and howls of laughter — he spoke in a language (and in pantomime) that was understood across ethic and social groups.

You can find out more about Mr. Uys at http://www.pdu.co.za/ and his doppelganger Evita se Perron at http://www.evita.co.za/ .

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