US singer and actress Queen Latifah joined a mass anti-AIDS march in the South African city of Durban Saturday, where grandmothers bringing up children orphaned by the disease also took to the streets.
Holding up signs that read “I care, do you?,” around a thousand grandmothers walked in a colorful procession to draw attention to their plight, as the coastal city readies to host a global AIDS conference from Monday.
“Life is very difficult for us grandmothers,” said 63-year-old Thandiswa Ndovela from the Eastern Cape region, who lost two daughters to AIDS and is now caring for eight grandchildren.
“I have to fend for all these children and no one is helping me out. I felt a strong need to come here and share my plight with other elderly women like me from all over South Africa.”
A second rally later in the day, entitled “Keep your Promises” also took place, this time bringing many young people onto the streets of Durban.
They were joined by Queen Latifah and South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
South Africa has been ravaged by AIDS, with around two million children orphaned by the disease, according to the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
Nineteen-year-old Siyabonga Khumalo from Mayville, a sprawling informal settlement on the outskirts of Durban, said he went for regular HIV tests after seeing many people die “because of ignorance.”

Source: Arab News