November 30, 2012
Remember prevention is better than cure,
Combination prevention will see us through
To conquer this infection, it needs you;
An AIDS free generation begins with you.
Last month 2012 AVAC Fellow Chamu Mashoko and a number of Zimbabwean musicians released “For You, I Will”. The song, which uses the message of taking care of yourself as a commitment to those you love to promote combination prevention, is part of Mashoko’s AVAC Advocacy Fellowship project.
To Mashoko, a song was an obvious way to spread this message. “Music is a universal language and among most Africans, important information is disseminated through music.” The song incorporates different styles of music and is performed in the three main spoken languages of Zimbabwe with the hope of furthering its appeal. It is the latest entry into the Zimbabwean HIV prevention songbook. In July 2012 a trio of famous musicians from Africa, including Oliver Mtukudzi and Winky Dee of Zimbabwe and Vee from Botswana, released a song on voluntary medical male circumcision at the International AIDS Conference.
Since its release, Mashoko and his collaborators have been interviewed on radio and in print and people have expressed an interest in a music video.
Click to listen to “For You, I Will” and read the lyrics.
For you, I’m really going to get HIV tested!
Take all the measures that will prevent us from being infected.
And let’s encourage everybody who is affected,
They need to feel respected and not to be rejected.