HIV positive muppet for Takalani Sesame
(Note: please contact the SABC directly for further information on Takalani
Sesame)
A new addition to the cast of South African television programme, Takalani
Sesame, will be a young vibrant muppet who is HIV positive. The show, aimed at
children aged 3 to 7, will help educate viewers about AIDS.
The character is expected to help destigmatise AIDS and encourage
positive behaviour towards infected people. The new character, a female muppet
aged 5 is still in the developmental stages and will only be unveiled in
mid-September 2002.
Takalani Sesame was launched in July 2000, and is designed
to support the ECD (Early Childhood Development) policy of the South Africa
Department of Education. The project consists of multi-lingual television and
radio programmes supported by print resources and training initiatives.
Television programmes are broadcast on SABC 2, Monday to Friday at 10:00 and
again at 15:00 and on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10:00.
Takalani Sesame is an international co-production with Sesame Workshop,
Kwazukazukela and Vuleka Productions, and was made possible in South Africa
through funding provided in part by Sanlam, SABC Education, The Department of
Education, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and
South African Airways (SAA).
The name "Takalani" means "be happy" in
TshiVenda and conveys the spirit of happiness and innocence throughout the
project.
The Takalani Sesame initiative aims to achieve mass reach
of young children - to encourage learning in the areas of literacy, numeracy and
life-skills. TV and radio programmes have been flighted for just over 2 years
and the initial research on the viewership and educational impact of the
programming has been both positive and encouraging. Awareness of Takalani Sesame
is growing and learning outcomes are being achieved.
More Information:
To find out more about Takalani Sesame, call Gloria Britain on (011) 714 5282.
Taking Takalani Sesame to the Children
Takalani Sesame- Again and Again and Again
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