全球智库信息集成服务系统

Guest editors: Tom Wakeford and Jasber Singh. To read the full table of contents please click on ‘More information’ above.

The spread of HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa has a huge impact on the children who carry the disease and related illnesses, or who have lost a parent or other family members to this epidemic. In South Africa, the need to attend to HIV-affected children is especially acute. Children also carry the emotional wounds of loss, fear, or social stigma. They need emotional support as much as physical healing. Essential to this support is enabling children to feel that they are agents who have some control over their lives, who can contribute to their own health and the well-being of others.

The Phila Impilo! programme is a reminder of the humanity behind the crises, and that this humanity is the channel for the most effective ‘ways to healing.’ Phila Impilo! Live Life! Ways to Healing is a DVD and book which shows healthcare workers and parents how to engage children as insightful partners in processes of healing. It brings together voices of children in the paediatric ward at King George V Hospital in Durban, family members, healthcare providers, a child psychologist, and an artist. The programme shows that some of the most potent ‘medicines’ available are participatory methods that help to lower the walls of isolation to provide children with communities of sharing and support.

Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board. See: www.planotes.org