Uncle Ali

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By Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Mali, based on an original idea by Cheikh Birahim Ndao, aged 17, from Dakar, Senegal

Cheikh's favourite uncle, Ali, is very ill and comes to live with him and his family. Ali is living with AIDS and has been thrown out of his home because his neighbours imagine that they can catch HIV through everyday exchanges with him. Cheikh learns that his own presence, respect and affection can help Ali fight his illness.

• length: 6 minutes 32 seconds
• date: 2000
• shot in: Senegal
• currently available in: French, English, Portuguese, Dioula, Wolof, Pulaar, Mooré, Fon, Twi (plus additional languages courtesy of project partners)
• starts at 0:19:43 on the VHS compilation cassette

Topics for discussion
(See also complete Users' Guide)

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Key topics for discussion:

• Ways in which HIV cannot be spread

• Where to turn for information on HIV/AIDS

• How you can help a friend or relative living with HIV/AIDS

• How a person living with HIV/AIDS can help his/her family and friends
  

Discussion topic 1:
Ways in which HIV cannot be spread

IN THE FILM: According to Cheikh's Aunt Fatima, why did Uncle Ali and his family have to move out of their apartment in the centre of town?

IN REAL LIFE: Can HIV be spread in the following ways?

1. Hugging a person living with HIV: No risk.

2. Coming in direct contact with the blood of somebody living with HIV: Very high level of risk.

3. Drinking from the same cup as somebody living with HIV: No risk.

4. Mosquito bites: No risk. No insect can transmit HIV to a human being.

5. Having unprotected sex with a person living with HIV: Very high level of risk.

6. Kissing somebody living with HIV: Small risk present if you come in contact with the person's blood.
   

7. Coming in contact with the sweat or tears of a person living with HIV: No risk.

8. Singing and laughing with a person living with HIV: No risk, massive mutual benefit.
   

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Discussion topic 2:
Where to turn for information on HIV/AIDS

IN THE FILM: Why does Cheikh turn to that particular person -- that doctor -- to ask his questions about HIV/AIDS?

IN REAL LIFE: If you wanted to find reliable information on HIV/AIDS, where would you go? To whom would you turn?

(Ideally, the facilitator will already have identified local or nearby sources of reliable information on HIV/AIDS, as well as the contact details of a structure providing HIV tests and related counselling. Good sources of information might include: reproductive health information centres, NGOs or associations with personnel trained in HIV, specialised clinics, educators who have received training in HIV, ….)

The internet contains a great deal of excellent information on HIV/AIDS, but some sites publish information that is dangerously incorrect. To find reliable information on HIV/AIDS on the web, a good place to start is the UNAIDS site (www.unaids.org), which also contains links to other reliable websites.

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Discussion topic 3:
How you can help a friend or relative living with HIV/AIDS

IN THE FILM: The doctor gives Cheikh a prescription for medicines to help his uncle. He says that those medicines are very strong and really effective. What exactly did the doctor prescribe? Why do you suppose the doctor prescribed those medicines?

IN REAL LIFE: If you had no money, what could you do to help a friend or relative living with HIV/AIDS?

The doctor's prescription of "presence, respect and affection" is sound advice for real-life situations as well!

Here are a few other things that you could do:

• Just like Ali's young nephew, you can seek out information on HIV/AIDS so that you understand more about the situation of your friend or relative. Share that information with other friends or family members. This will allow you to have a better sense of that person's needs and will put you in a position to help him or her more effectively. An enlightened family or group of friends is much more likely to provide the kind of support the person living with HIV really needs.

• People living with HIV/AIDS need to be sure that they take good care of themselves by getting enough sleep, avoiding stress, maintaining good hygiene…. Friends and, especially, family members can see to it that the person is able to do all of those essential things.

• Family and friends are key providers of emotional support and can help to ensure that a person living with HIV continues to have a fulfilling social life.

• Family and friends can help protect the rights of a person living with HIV/AIDS, shield him or her from abandonment and abuse, and defend that person from discrimination.
  

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Discussion topic 4:
How a person living with HIV/AIDS can help his/her family and friends

IN THE FILM: Uncle Ali's illness is tough on his nephew, but Ali has found ways to help his nephew keep his own spirits up through the difficult times. How does Ali help his nephew?

IN REAL LIFE: Usually, we think about ways a family can help a person living with HIV/AIDS. But what about the reverse: What "medicines" can a person living with HIV/AIDS give his or her family to help make things easier?

Here are a few of the things that a person living with HIV/AIDS can do to help his or her family cope:

• First and foremost, he or she can communicate with the family about the situation so that they understand what is going on and how they might best help out. Such communication establishes an atmosphere of trust. It can allow the family to unleash tremendously positive forces of solidarity.

• The person living with HIV can continue to care for his or her family members for as long as possible.

• People living with HIV can make plans for their future and that of their dependants. "This may include making a will and making decisions about the care of their dependants after they die. Property grabbing occurs in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the practice of relatives of the deceased seizing his or her property at death. This often results in women and orphans being left destitute following a death. Making a legally binding will may ensure that loved ones and dependants are provided for."

• If one member of a couple receives a positive test result and shares the result with his or her partner, that partner can in turn get tested, and the couple can take steps to avoid mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
  

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