Masupatsela is a 13 x 24 min educational documentary series with a pioneering twist.

The aim of the series is to showcase individuals, communities, organisations and companies who are using their own initiative, rolling up their sleeves – whether out of necessity, urgency, obligation, inevitability, as a matter of course or consequence, or out of neighbourliness – and getting to work in the arena of HIV/AIDS.
For these people (trailblazers), HIV/AIDS is not something distant, over there, that only affects “those people”, it is something real and immediate that affects them too, even if they aren’t infected. These are people who are using the resources they have, no matter how few or how many. They are doing what they can to make life easier for those living with HIV/AIDS, whether it’s themselves, family members, colleagues, friends or staff.

For these people HIV/AIDS is part of their daily lives and they face each day with the challenges it brings. These people are not defeated by the pandemic: instead they are triumphing over the disease in small and / or large ways. These Trailblazers are setting examples and it’s their ingenuity and compassion that we’d like the rest of the country to see and to be inspired by.

Although the motivation for the series comes from the urgency to turn the tide of the pandemic, our stories will not focus on the disease, but on how people are helping others and how their ideas and commitment have turned into successful solutions that can help us all live healthier and more compassionately. We will also learn what motivates these people, who work tirelessly and often – especially in the case of individuals – without financial reward.

So what’s the pioneering twist?

This is a series aimed at adults that is presented by two animated characters, Flink and Nono, who journey through the stories and around the country, learning about these strange creatures who call themselves humans and their many responses to something they call “being positive.”

TX: 7 August – 20 November 2007 on SABC 2 on Tuesdays at 21h30

EPISODE LINE-UP:
Episode 1 Showing the Way
Laphumilanga / Autoliv / Margaret Hardman

Episode 2 Seeing Things in a New Light
Brandvlei / Sinethemba / Mary Crockett

Episode 3 Spreading the Message
Riverside Radio / Media in Education Trust (MIET) / Community Health Media Trust (CHMT)

Episode 4 Big Ideas
Heart of Healing / Intyatyambo / Makotse Women’s Club

Episode 5 Supporting the Supporters
Positive Moms / Grandmothers Against Poverty and Aids (GAPA) / South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG)

Episode 6 Networks of Support
KwaZulu Regional Christian Council (KRCC) / Lifeline / HIV/Aids Adherence Counsellors Organisation (HAACO)

Episode 7 With a Little Help from my Friends
Mangabane / Matlakala Maropefela / Aids Foundation of South Africa (AFSA)

Episode 8 Uplifting our Area
Regolele / Amatola / Tholulwazi Uzivikele

Episode 9 Safe Havens
Thembalethu / Morningstar / Curt Warmberg Haven

Episode 10 Looking Deeper
David Goldblatt / Traditional Healers / Matchbox Incubator / DramAidE

Episode 11 Skills for Success
Ramotshinyadi / Pretoria West Aids Care Group / Image Project

Episode 12 Challenging Preconceptions
Christiana Centre / David Patient / Positive Muslims

Episode 13 Turning Things Around
Ndlovu Centre / Lesedi Lechabile / Dr Vanga Siwisa