Puppets Against AIDS
[7] Undergirding the initiative was the belief that all South Africans, regardless of color or status, deserved access to health care, a philosophy that challenged the abuses and inequities under apartheid.
[7] During the interactive performance[13] in front of a largely illiterate audience,[14] spectators were encouraged to become "spec actors" advising the puppet characters on their choices.
[19] "Sex and death often being sensitive taboo issues, puppets were chosen as safe, non-threatening communicators for culturally diverse populations.
"[19] Professor Marie Kruger, who studied the appeal of puppetry in African culture, referenced Puppets Against AIDS in her 2008 research paper.
"It (the AIDS puppet show) creates an opportunity for people to laugh at themselves, even pity themselves for what they go through in their daily life ... challenging the audience to find solutions.
[7][4] Prior to the launch of this street performance, Friedman studied puppetry for six years at the Institut International de la Marionnette in Charleville- Mézières, France, where he met his mentor Muppet creator Jim Henson, who provided the initial financing for the non-governmental African Research and Educational Puppetry Program, the sponsor of Puppets Against AIDS.
The Unesco Courier, in a feature on the program, reported in 1998 that puppets, one step removed from the real world, could overcome prison racial barriers through humor, tackling otherwise taboo subjects.
"[19] Evaluators concluded, however, that Puppets Against AIDS could be even more effective if it were "incorporated into existing community-based education programmes on HIV infection.
[28] Although the researchers noted a need to include puppeteers who were HIV positive, as well as ever-evolving script changes to improve the portrayal of women and better address modern misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, researchers also noted Puppets Against AIDS was "reaching into the heart of the populace" and making connections with the target audience, delivering a much-needed message about the importance of wearing condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In "Evaluation of the Role of Theater in Disseminating Information about the Scourge of HIV/AIDS in South Africa," University of Fort Hare, South Africa professors Chijioke Uwah and Elias Mathipa noted the positive participatory nature of AREPP's puppet shows, in which audience members constructed and negotiated meaning, but suggested that anti-AIDS intervention programs, in general, be designed through a cultural lens with greater emphasis on cultural norms and structural realities, such as lack of food, clothing and shelter, to work in concert with non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in addressing these realities.
A non-profit non-governmental agency, KIPT incorporates interactive audience discourse in its puppet shows and festivals that tackle themes such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexual reproductive health/rights, gender-based violence, environment and conservation, and human rights and democracy.
