Harold Bokaba – South Africa

Profile

It takes a particular type of personality to hand out condoms to burly truck drivers, but that's just one of the approaches Harold Bokaba has taken in an effort to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS among his fellow South Africans.

A Unilever employee since 1977, Harold originally ran the help desk at Unilever's customer care centre for delivery drivers, in the Johannesburg suburb of Boksburg. In the course of his career he has also been an active trade union member and shop steward for 16 years. As the HIV/AIDS crisis began to worsen, around 1991, he became a volunteer in his spare time. "That is when I decided to change from a trade union activist to a crying and caring person for people infected with the epidemic. I started handing out condoms to the delivery truck drivers who passed through our distribution centre." This was because truck drivers are seen as one way for the HIV virus to travel from community to community. Through this volunteer work, he became known, affectionately, as 'Mr Aids' or 'Mr Condoms'.

The AIDS pandemic has already killed millions of sub-Saharan Africans and threatens the lives of countless more. People like Harold are essential components in the battle against the deadly virus. "Everyone in South Africa knows someone who has suffered from this awful virus", he says. Harold has, sadly, lost a close family member to HIV/AIDS.

For Harold, trying to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS has become a calling. So much so, that he has now become a full time AIDS champion for Unilever.

Education & awareness raising

Since 2004 Harold has worked tirelessly to create a network of 30 employee peer educators who raise awareness of HIV/AIDS amongst their colleagues.

"It takes a certain type of person to become a peer educator," he explains. "They need to be passionate, and have the energy and drive to stand out and make a difference. For me, it's a full time job, but for them they have to juggle this commitment with their normal responsibilities."

Harold regularly travels between Boksburg and other Unilever South Africa sites to motivate and mentor his team of educators. "It is my role to be visible and lead from the front. But it is also important that I expose them to the reality of the situation. We've taken them to hospitals and orphanages to see, first hand, the devastating impact HIV/AIDS is having."

As a minimum, they are expected to educate 50 employees each. But ultimately, Harold explains, it is about building their capacity to make his work self-sustaining so they can function without him.

Looking ahead, Harold says he would like to link up with other companies to share approaches to tackling HIV/AIDS in the workplace. "I think we can learn a lot from each other." he explains. He has already taken it upon himself to work with subcontractors. "We engage with them the same way we do with our employees, for example recruiting people living with the disease to talk to them about their experiences. Subcontractors are too often overlooked by companies' HIV/AIDS programmes."

More immediately, Harold is busy preparing for some of the annual awareness raising events he organises for fellow employees. "During National Women's Month in August we encourage female employees to get together and discuss issues that affect them at work and home. Our Men's Forum in September is an opportunity for male employees to talk about issues relating to sexuality, HIV/AIDS and other problems they experience in their daily lives. As you might know, men don't always talk to each other. Often the only time they talk is when they are in a bar, so it is rare that they get to discuss such personal issues," he explains. Both events are opportunities for Harold to tailor his message to meet the different needs of Unilever's workforce.

Community work

These days, Harold's remit extends far beyond truck drivers and colleagues. His work includes educating school children, raising awareness among communities, even educating what he calls the "forgotten societies", such as those in prison – where rape and sodomy is widespread and offers a fertile breeding ground for the virus.

Harold is expanding his network of peer educators to prisons, taking the brave step of visiting inmates in their cells. "I sit with them and give them the strategies and resources to take our message to their fellow inmates. They really appreciate the time I take to talk to them and are incredibly inquisitive about what is happening in the outside world. In many cases, I am their only link." Harold explains his work helps prepare them for their eventual release. "We give them a role they can play in their communities once they are freed, helping their rehabilitation into society.

"At Boksburg we run a winter soup kitchen for local school children. We encourage everyone at the site to get involved. It is all part and parcel of an outreach programme that reaches over 4 000 children in 20 neighbouring schools." Recently he has begun life-skills training for nine to 16 years olds. "We teach them how to take control of their lives and give them the skills that will hopefully make them better parents. It is vital we reach this age group because they are particularly vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS."

He says the training he received in his early career at Unilever has helped him manage the ominous task he has now taken on. Although he never expected to leave the distribution side of the business, he recognises that he is now doing something that is really helping to make a difference to the people around him, to their society and to the company.

"My main objective is to try and empower these people so that they can manage this problem on their own, at their own pace." He accepts that it is a very big task and that changing people's behaviour does not happen overnight. "It is going to take time. We need to constantly go on and on until people start understanding."

National recognition

Harold loves his work and more and more people are hearing about it. He's even been interviewed on national TV to discuss the issues. In 2006, Harold was selected to be the first 'Angel in Action' ambassador by Informer, South Africa's only newspaper for people living with, or caring for those with HIV/AIDS. For Harold, the award is an honour. "It has made me realise that South Africa is taking note of the work I am doing and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for the people who trusted me enough to let me help them, to the people who have supported me and walked with me."