The Ohio University African Studies department is sponsoring a play that details the lives of women living with HIV and AIDS.
"Celebrating Life and Living Positively” will be performed 8 p.m. Friday in Scripps Hall’s Anderson Auditorium. The performance is free, but donations will be accepted and used to support student travel to South Africa
“(The play is) basically coming from the voices of several women who are living with HIV/AIDS,” said Jennifer Cochran, center for international studies assistant director for communications. “The play is not about the disease, it’s about the people living with the disease and the lives that they lead.”
Cochran said the play has been performed once before, in April at The Blue Gator with more actors. At that time, it was in conjunction with an African Studies conference. This time, it is being performed for the Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, she said.
“We want to be able to provide activities for the people who are here from around the country, and this is one of those activities,” Cochran said.
“Celebrating Life and Living Positively” was written and is directed by Firdoze Bulbulia, a South African filmmaker who currently is pursuing a master’s degree in African Studies at Ohio University.
The play also will feature Erica Allen, an OU graduate student in African Studies, and Grace Neequaye, an OU pre-med student from Ghana.
Cochran said she hopes the play will raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
“It’s an opportunity to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that’s claiming so many lives in Africa right now,” she said.
The event also will include a brief presentation on the Zienzele Foundation of Zimbabwe, a non-governmental organization that promotes self-sufficiency for caretakers of AIDS orphans. Zienzele baskets will be available for purchase at the performance.
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Katie Gill
