BAYO schedules fundraiser events

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday November 21, 2014 13:10

The event would be hosted under the theme ‘Nurture My Talent’, which is an initiative devised to encourage Tloaneng children to unleash their talents.  During an interview with Arts & Culture, event coordinator Connie Lefowane said they would unleash Tloaneng children’s talents from the grass roots level.

“This activity will create a fun, friendly and safe environment in which youth can explore their talents and beliefs about HIV/AIDS. It will also increase their knowledge and develop healthy attitudes and behaviours concerning HIV/AIDS. This activity empowers participants with skills necessary to lead healthy lives,” Lefowane added.

She said that those skills include critical thinking, communication, self-esteem and decision-making.  She added that they aim to raise funds for BAYO to enable them to run programmes and day-to-day errands of the organisation.

She added that the activity target pupils and parents.  The activities planned for the day are a beauty contest, dance, and singing.  Entertainment will be from artists such as Captain Dira, who is hoped to be a crowd puller.

There would also be stalls set up to sensitise the youth on HIV/AIDS related matters such as Makgabaneng, Youth Health Organisation (YOHO) and others, said Lefowane.

She said that BAYO intends to reach communities and their peers with age appropriated prevention messages and as such the organisation is uniquely positioned to develop and deliver effective programmes.  

Lefowane also added that their organisation mainly focuses on engaging youth through a variety of edutainment activities, which include interactive educational activities as well as media and arts-based programming such as theatre, life skills, traditional and contemporary music, dance and poetry.

“Key prevention messages would be centred around abstinence, correct consistent condom use, multiple concurrent partnership, alcohol consumption and abuse, gender-based violence, tuberculosis and Safe Male Circumcision (SMC). To ensure sustainability, BAYO has strategically put in place income generating activities,” she said.

She emphasised that these services are limited to theatre, performances, community outreach activities, production of theme songs, artist bookings, events management, branding, script development, video productions to suit specific client’s needs.

BAYO is a youth-led initiative whose objective is to empower the Tloaneng youth with HIV and AIDS knowledge. Its aim is to bring behavioural change, in order to invigorate youth in HIV/AIDS initiatives, more especially those aged between 10- and 35-years-old.

Entrance fee at the event is P20 for adults and P10 for children.