Chiedza's Song

Chiedza's song tells the true story of a young woman growing up with HIV in Harare. Filmed entirely from Chiedza's perspective, it allows the audience to see what she sees and hear her thoughts. The overall message is positive, as Chiedza overcomes serious illness and family rejection to get to university and find love. The film was designed with the participation of young people living with HIV in Harare, to challenge the stereo-typed negative images of HIV still prevalent. Many of these are the result of past prevention campaigns, which use fear to try to change the behaviour of young people. Instead the film emphasises the enormous benefits of modern HIV treatment, and the negative impact of stigma and prejudice, which have become the main barriers to getting treatment to everyone who needs it. The film was built around a research project with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which found that half of the kids with HIV in Harare are unaware they are infected and are not getting treatment. Often the adults around them do not want them to get tested, for fear of revealing their own infection. The film is designed to provoke discussion and has been shown in Community Halls in Harare. It is now being turned into a pack to be shown in schools in Zimbabwe.