March 26, 2005
The outreach to Newcastle
By: Nonhlanhla Mthiyane

On the 7th of March 2005 a team from Doctors for Life International went on an outreach to Newcastle as. One of DFL's friends who is originally from Holland, Fiestra, have been working in this area for many years and and invited us to come and present the AIDS talk to different schools.

On the 8th we visited a school named: OSIZWENI High School , which consist of more than a thousand children. We (Nonhlanhla, Maphindi, Shadrack and Sifiso) divided into two groups. Each group had to speak to individual classes through out the week. Fiestra opened in prayer and read a portion from the Word of God and then handed it over to DFL to proceed with the presentation.

Mr. Shadrack Mafutsa doing the AIDS presentation in one of the classrooms

The talks consisted of an introduction and then we would show them them the new DFL school AIDS production, IN YOUR FACE, a video that also shows some other Sexual Transmitted Infections (STIs) . One could see that this video had a great impact on the childrenas they paid close attention to the information and warnings presented to them. It was clearly something new to them.

Children listening attentively

We also gave them some new statistics of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. At the end of each session we wrapped up by telling them about more about the proven and studied failures of condoms that are suppose to protect a person from getting HIV/AIDS. DFL believes that abstinence is the only true answer to stopping the HI-Virus from spreading in Africa and the world. Therefore we encourage children to abstain from sexual activities before marriage and be faithful to your partner after marriage because.

Nonhlanhla Mtiyani speaking to the school children

Self control is a missing word in our vocabulary. Contrary to the myth that this is not possible, thousands of young people are pledging their lives to abstaing from sexual activity untill they get married. “ What you are in future comes from what you did yesterday’’.

Although this message was clearly new to some of them, the response was tremendously in favour of it as we were asked to come back to the same school on the second day and third day. At the end of each session some children would come for further assistance and counselling. Some admitted taking part in casual sex in the past, without realising what the consiquences would be. This was alway a wonderful oppurtunity to encouraged them that it’s not too late to stop and to choose a new lifestyle that God can help them with.

With thanks to our CEO, Dr A. van Eeden for making the outreach possible for us.

The DFL group together with the school principle and teachers who gave us the invitation