Health Communication Materials Database | M/MC ID# CD ZIM 7 |
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| English Title: Mopani junction : Episodes 1, 2 & 3
Series Title: | Mopani junction |
Media Format: Serial Drama, Radio Program
Date: 1994
Run Time: 75
Country: Zimbabwe
Subjects: Enter-Educate, AIDS, AIDS Medical Treatment, HIV Infections, HIV Prevention, HIV Testing, HIV Transmission, HIV/AIDS Home Care and Support, Family Life, Violence Against Women, Gender Issues, Infant Health, Fidelity, Adolescents, Premarital Sex Behavior, Sex Behavior, Sexual Abstinence, Sexual Responsibility, Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Audience: General
Languages: English
Description: Audio CD; cover: black with red and white text, and a colorful drawings of characters featured in the program.
Producers: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Zimbabwe, Media for Development Trust, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Zimbabwe Ministry of Health, Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), Amakhosi, Moonlight Studios, Zimbabwe AIDS Network, Tuku Mu
Contact: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Zimbabwe
38 Samora Machel Avenue
Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone: 263-4-796040
Email: mopanijunction@zimcdc.co.zw
Website: http://www.mfd.co.zw
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|  | Abstract: Audio CD of episodes 1, 2 & 3.
Episode 1 : Begins at the family farm where Thursday Gumbo is cross with his brother Jacob, who called a family meeting, but hasn't arrived, yet. He scolds his son Benji for being lazy and irresponsible, but his mother Ernestina scolds him and tells him to treat Benji like a man. Thursday's daughter, Loveness and Benji's wife, Blessing are in the house preparing... more Abstract: Audio CD of episodes 1, 2 & 3.
Episode 1 : Begins at the family farm where Thursday Gumbo is cross with his brother Jacob, who called a family meeting, but hasn't arrived, yet. He scolds his son Benji for being lazy and irresponsible, but his mother Ernestina scolds him and tells him to treat Benji like a man. Thursday's daughter, Loveness and Benji's wife, Blessing are in the house preparing a meal.
Jacob and his wife, April are in the car on their way to the farm with their son Jackson and daughter Sphiwe. They are discussing the strife that exists in the family. Jacob says he would like to reconcile with his brother Thursday, but he doesn't trust him.
Ernestina is very excited by the arrival of her son Jacob whom she hasn't seen in a while. Sphiwe is sent into the house with the women, and the adults begin to talk about the family business. Jacob sold the family cattle, and Thursday is still angry about it years later. Jacob says he's come to make peace. Thursday wants him to pay compensation for the cattle, but Jacob claims he sold them to pay for his business which he used to support Thursday's family while he was away fighting in the war. Sarah tries to be the peacemaker between her two brothers.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen Sphiwe is coughing from the cooking-fire smoke, and says she never wants to get married and be a slave to some man. Blessing tells Sphiwe of how she and Benji met and had to get married. Sphiwe scolds her for having sex and getting pregnant, but Blessing tells her that she will understand for herself one day.
Outside, Jacob has offered to buy 5 cattle to start with, and offers to build his mother a new house and make some improvements to the farm and the road, and provide upkeep for the sacred family grounds. He wants to bring in electricity and modernize the farm a bit, but Jacob refuses anything remotely modern, constantly claiming that the ancestors will be angered, and that they plague his dreams with their displeasure. In the end, Ernestina is very happy that her sons have made peace, and Jacob, April, and Jackson head back home in the car. The car is in an accident and Jacob is killed.
Episode 2: Begins at the church, with Ernestina grieving for her oldest son. The family is discussing burial arrangements. Ernestina and Thursday would like Jacob buried in the family plot on the farm. Jackson says he believes Jacob would have preferred burial in town, nearer his immediate family, and April agrees. Thursday claims it will infuriate the family spirits, and treats Jackson like a child, but April insists that Jackson is carrying out his father's wishes.
At the funeral, Thursday gives a very emotional and tearful farewell speech, while Jackson and April suspect his motives, and believe he's after Jacob's money. Josh performs a song his Uncle Jake liked. At the family meeting after the funeral, Thursday offers help to April, but she says she'll depend on her sons, Jackson and Luckson for anything she needs. Again, Thursday claims this will anger the ancestors. Ernestina urges the family to be responsible and not squander their inheritance. Thursday brings up the need for a ceremony to choose a new head of the family, and offers to come to town and check on Jacob's business. Jackson challenges him and points out that Thursday finds the business offensive.
April and Jackson talk later, and April reveals that she suspects that Thursday used witchcraft to doctor Jacob's food, and caused the accident that killed him. She tells Jackson to run things and to jealously guard his father's business empire. Jackson plans to still build a house for his grandmother, and to make improvements to the farm and road, but says no way will he buy the cattle that Thursday wants.
Episode 3 : Sphiwe and her friend Rumbi are talking outside the school. Rumbi teases Sphiwe about a boy, Jimmy, who obviously likes her. Sphiwe is not interested in Jimmy. The girls go into the restroom, and Ruby shows Sphiwe a dirty magazine with pictures of nude men. Rumbi agrees to loan the magazine to Sphiwe.
Luckson goes to the farm to speak with his Uncle Thursday about the girl he wants to marry, Noma. Thursday reminds him that there can be no wedding until the one-year mourning period is up, but encourages Luckson to go ahead and propose to Noma.
Benji is in a bar, and wants to buy a beer, but has no money. A friend buys him a drink, and he is tempted by a woman.
Rumbi and Sphiwe are again talking outside the school, when Jimmy approaches and asks for his magazine back. Sphiwe is embarrassed to learn the magazine really belongs to him and promises to return it the next day. At home Sphiwe is confronted by her mother who has found the magazine and is very angry. April says that she will ask Jackson to deal with Sphiwe.
Loveness' husband comes home late and he's drunk. He's angry that his dinner is cold, but she tells him she ran out of wood for the fire, and the boy who cuts it won't talk to her, only to the man of the house. She also tells him that their daughter Mutsa was kicked out of school because her fees weren't paid, and asks him for the money, but by that time, he's fallen asleep. less
Notes: Mopani junction is an entertaining radio serial drama produced by CDC Zimbabwe as part of a behavior change initiative to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. It takes its name from the Mopani tree, a hardy tree native to Zimbabwe and able to withstand long periods of drought. The Mopani tree is a symbol of survival.
There are 104 25-minute episodes available in English, Shona, and Ndebele. The stories... more Notes: Mopani junction is an entertaining radio serial drama produced by CDC Zimbabwe as part of a behavior change initiative to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. It takes its name from the Mopani tree, a hardy tree native to Zimbabwe and able to withstand long periods of drought. The Mopani tree is a symbol of survival.
There are 104 25-minute episodes available in English, Shona, and Ndebele. The stories focus on the every day lives of a typical African family, the Gumbos. It is set in the small town of Mopani Junction, and a nearby village, Mopani Springs. The main characters are the younger generation of the fictional Gumbo family, facing the challenges of life: family conflict, gender issues, generational divisions, love and relationships, economic transitions, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the clash between westernization and traditional values and practices. By identifying with the characters in Mopani Junction, listeners learn to find the strength and vision to overcome the obstacles presented by HIV/AIDS.
Mopani Junction has six main story lines, each showing the main characters trying to adopt safer, healthier lifestyles. The patriarch of the clan is Thursday Gumbo, a traditionalist, determined to defend his rural lifestyle at Mopani Springs against a commercial developer. He faces challenges from the developer and within his own family when his daughter discovers she is HIV positive.
Loveness, Thursday's daughter, is a young woman escaping from an abusive husband, Misheck with her two children when she learns she is HIV positive. Benji, younger brother of Loveness, is happily married to Blessing, but frustrated by the limited opportunities in Mopani Springs. He moves to the city against the wishes of his wife, seeking his fortune. In the city he begins drinking and is tempted into extra-marital affairs.
Luckson, a nephew of Thursday, and his wife Noma live in Mopani junction and are expecting their first child. Noma is encouraged to get tested for HIV at an antenatal checkup. Noma and Luckson must then learn to live with their positive status while raising their infant son, Jacob Junior.
Sphiwe, sister of Luckson, is a student at Mopani high school. She faces the expected pressures of boys who are interested in her, and girlfriends who are a bad influence. Sphiwe learns of the risks involved in sexual relationships through the misfortune of others and good advice from relatives.
Josh, son of Thursday's sister Sara, is a talented musician, fresh out of Mopani high school, and trying to pursue a music career in the city. His talent and good looks mean he has to fend off many female admirers in his search for a woman he truly loves.
Mopani Junction challenges individuals, families, and communities to think, talk and move beyond awareness of HIV/AIDS by taking action to: abstain from sex or delay the initiation of sex, practice safer sex through mutual monogamy, practice safer sex through the correct and consistent use of condoms, seek HIV counseling and testing and live positively or stay negative, prevent the transmission of HIV to babies, seek treatment to prevent and treat AIDS-related illnesses, seek HIV/AIDS care and support services, and support people living with HIV/AIDS including caregivers and orphans. less
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