Duke University: Center for Documentary Studies

I watched a podcast on itunes from the Center for Documentary studies done by Duke University about South Africa and they showed alot that we don't hear about Africa. South Africa is not a glamorous place like movies make it out to be. People see this country as a country on a downward spiral or in turmoil as it is referred.HIV and AIDS is the biggest problem in South Africa and the reason it is in a downward spiral. Many families are being broken up because of all the deaths from AIDS. The disease is affecting the country in that everyone is ill and this is not good for the economy and also affecting the people in the country negatively. Their are more social problems coming from the disease like violence, robbery, and the most common, death.

In South Africa their are programs being made up to help the morral of the people and children in the country to get their spirits up and to let them know everything is going to be alright. An example of one of these programs is role playing where students come together and perform skits as a group and it brings everyone together and helps the kids get their minds off things and feel like their are people there for them.

The students in South Africa put a lot of time into these programs. Duke University is helping to get the word out that Africa is in the middle of some hardships, but the students are going to prevail through this and be a successful new generation. The young generation in South Africa are working very hard to overcome their obsticles so they can live the future that everyone deserves, especially these kids because they have been through so much.