CNN Multichoice Awards

(Noor Hoek and Cape Point)

With no work today, I spent the day with the Kaiser Family Foundation members and the African journalists particpating in the African Journalist Award Week. The morning began with a breakfast forum to discuss the HIV epidemic and the role of media in the fight to make HIV part of the international dialogue. Journalists from all over Africa discussed their struggle to ignite interest in HIV in their communities and the cultural taboos they face regarding the discussion of HIV.

Now, I know that most of my blog so far has carried a heavy tone. So, on a lighter note, I thought I would share the story of one journalist from Uganda who discussed the need for journalists to increase public interest in the HIV epidemic and suggested involving political figures in the struggle to entice the news media and the readers. He shared his story in which the government of Uganda purchased a supply of condoms to promote sexual health and HIV prevention. However, the condoms were all too small for the Ugandans and people, outraged by this oversight, went to the government and demanded, "Why do you buy such small condoms? We are big African men!" Needless to say, this story sold many papers and opened the door for a larger HIV discussion in Uganda.

The forum was followed by lunch at the Constantia vinyards and estate, which reminded me of Napa Valley to a smaller extent. Thinking back to my previous days in the midst of extreme poverty in the Y-Centers and townships, I was shocked to the see the wealth in the surrounding homes and estates, just over a hill from the poverty-stricken areas. The gap between the rich and poor in South Africa is vast and today provided me a different perspective on life in South Africa, highlighting why there is such tension between the classes.

After lunch and a tour of the vineyard, we took a bus tour around Chapman's Peak and experienced some of the most outstandingly beautiful sights I have seen. The road to Cape Point reminds me the Amalfi Coast in Italy as our bus driver tackled each turn in the road as we learily looked over the sheer drop-off of the road into the icy blue ocean below. Our driver showed us Noor Hoek (pronounced Noor Hook) beach, which is the longest stretch of white sand beach in the Cape Town area at 11 km long. He explained that however beautiful this beach was, there is a large Great White shark problem at the moment which, as many of you would guess, was more than enough for me to pass up a swim!

(All dressed up in front of the fire in the bar of my hostel for the CNN Awards)

This evening, I had to set aside my jeans and casual clothes and don a dress and heels for the CNN African Journalist Awards, (you can imagine the looks I received leaving my hostel admist the other residents in their sweats and backpacks!). The Kaiser Family Foundation was a large sponsor of the event, allowing for us to have prime seating. My seat was practically on the stage and the camera man kept putting my table on the large screen. (So, if you happen to see clips of the CNN African Journalist Awards, look out for my face!). The Bala Brothers, a very popular band in South Africa, entertained the crowd with their operatic as well as soul and pop pieces.

The Convention Center was beautifully decorated and people were dressed in their elaborate and colorful traditional gowns from their countries. The award winners' stories were heartbreaking as they thanked their parents for sacrificing so much in order to give them an education so they could be where they are today. The CNN African Journalist of 2007 went to quite a deserving man from Uganda who detailed women's struggle for equality in Uganda. His writing was beautiful and you could feel the pain and suffering of the women he was interviewing. In his acceptance speech, he stated that he is a journalist because he believes in giving every Ugandan the rights they deserve and he will not stop working, until he can make a difference.