“The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations which we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which is planted deep within each of us, and which knows only the oppressors’ tactics, the oppressors’ relationships.” –Audre Lorde
Our Week Ahead 16-20 October
The Life Esidimeni Arbitration continues this week. The proceeding are being led by retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and have been designed to provide information, redress and closure to the affected mental healthcare users and their families. SECTION27 is representing over 50 families. It starts at 9am every day at Emoyeni Conference Centre in Parktown and is open to the public and the media. It was set down to run for three weeks and we are now in the second week. Follow the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the Treatment Action Campaign and the media for updates and click here for live coverage.
Issue 3 of Spotlight will go live this week. The focus is on the latest National Strategic Plan and also includes profiles on two Health MECs, the new CEO of the SA National AIDS Council as well as the important work being done by the Treatment Action Campaign in seven provinces. The latest issue will be at www.spotlightnsp.co.za
Monday 16 October
Our Grants Coordinator Elinor Kern and our Head of Human Resources Violet Kaseke are attending a Raith Foundation Reflection and Learning workshop at the Ford Foundation offices in Melrose Estate.
Tuesday 17 October
Eastern Cape Community Mobiliser Fikile Boyce is meeting the CEO of the Butterworth Hospital, Mr Wezile Tshali. This meeting will also be attended by the Treatment Action Campaign in the Eastern Cape. In this meeting, Boyce will discuss the myriad reported problems within the hospital, particularly after reports that the hospital has been functioning without water.
Judgment will be delivered in the North Gauteng High Court in the matter of Solidarity vs Minister of Basic Education. In 2015, Solidarity launched an application challenging the selection criteria of the Fundza Lushaka bursary scheme on the basis that it unfairly discriminates on the grounds of race which impacts on the right to further education. In response, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) submits that the criteria used for the selection are fair and aimed at redressing past inequalities, arguing that the selection criteria is aimed at training more teachers in indigenous African languages in line with the Department’s policies. In support of the DBE, SECTION27, representing the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), argues that the scheme is consistent with and gives effect to the right to basic education and to the right to receive basic education in the language of one’s choice. The hearing took place on 22 June 2017 before Judge Makgoka.
Field Researcher and KwaZulu-Natal Civil Society Chairperson Patrick Mdletshe will convene a civil society meeting at Durban City Hall at 9am. The meeting will be attended by 18 sectors that are part of the HIV response in the province and will include women, children, sex workers, drug users, LGBTI people and youth.
Thursday 19 October
Eastern Cape Community Mobiliser Fikile Boyce and Advocacy Officer Vuyokazi Gonyela will be meeting Nkululeko Secondary School Stakeholders at KwaNobuhle Lovelife to introduce the Department of Basic Education’s new policy on HIV, STIs and TB.
On the 19-20 October 2017, Mpumalanga Community Mobilser Sfiso Nkala will be involved in a Women and Youth dialogue in Ermelo town at Msukaligwa municipality in the Gert Sibande district. The dialogue will form part of the preparation for World AIDS Day whilst addressing challenges faced by young women and youth on HIV, TB, STIs and how to strengthen the health system.
Section27 in last week’s news
Life Esidimeni: Quest for healing and compensation for victims’ families begins
Life Esidimeni: Deaths recounted, but will government hold its own accountable?
Op-Ed: We need answers so that there will never be another Esidimeni tragedy
Business leaders, be brave! – Mark Heywood’s challenge to CEOs
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