NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ Features Follow-Up on AIDS Radio Diary Project
NPR's "All Things Considered" on Thursday included a discussion with Thembi Ngubane, a 22-year-old, HIV-positive resident of the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa. Ngubane three years ago recorded an audio diary for Radio Diaries, titled "The AIDS Diary Project: A Year in the Life of a South African Teenager." The documentary, which aired on NPR in April 2006, last month was broadcast for the first time in South Africa and was aired in English, Zulu and Ngubane's native language, Xhosa (Block, "All Things Considered," NPR, 4/3). In the documentary, then-19-year-old Ngubane chronicled events in her life during the past year, including talking to her mother about HIV/AIDS, visiting the township clinic to apply for antiretroviral drugs, interacting with friends and neighbors as they learn her HIV status, and spending time with her boyfriend (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/19/06). She also documented telling her father about her HIV status, her decision to have a child and her plans for the future. Over the past year, Ngubane went on a speaking tour in the U.S. and then returned to South Africa to speak with students and local groups about HIV/AIDS. Most recently, she addressed the African National Congress Caucus of the South African Parliament. Ngubane plans to continue touring schools and colleges in South Africa to share her story with other young people ("All Things Considered," NPR, 4/3). This reporting project was sponsored by a Kaiser Family Foundation journalism fellowship award (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/26/06). Audio of the segment is available online.
The documentary, an AIDS Action Toolkit and additional information about the project are available online. Ngubane's blog of her tour of South Africa also is available online.