"Themba" - A boy called Hope

Set predominantly in the spectacular Eastern Cape of South Africa, THEMBA, is the moving story of a young Xhosa boy who dreams of being a soccer star and longs for his absent father to return home. His non-idyllic childhood in the rural Eastern Cape comes to an abrupt end when his mother is forced to look for work in Cape Town after losing her job, and he and his sister are left in the care of her lover. After Themba is raped, he and his sister go to look for their mother in Cape Town even though his soccer team stands to win the Eastern Cape Junior championships. They find her dying of AIDS. Themba has to force the fact that he, too, is infected. Against all odds, he realizes his soccer dream and plays for Bafana Bafana. This gives him the courage to take a public stand and tell the world that he is HIV positive. (Written by Stefanie Sycholt http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1599369/)



As the movie started most of the boys at the Knysna Sr Sec Hostel were not interested and playing games or chatting on 'mixit' on their cell phones... but by the end of the movie all phones were dark, and eyes were glued to the screen to watch the outcome of Themba's soccer (football) game and HIV status! Most had misty eyes as Themba announced on public TV that "I never expected to play for Bafana Bafana and I never expected to test positive for HIV!"

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The climax of the evening was not the end of the movie, but the powerful testimony of Ella, one of the newest volunteers at Options. Ella is HIV positive, and has a passion to spare youth from making the same mistakes she made. "You have your whole life ahead of you... wait for sex til you are married. If I can do it at 40, you can do it at 16. God will sustain you!"



Like Themba, Ella desires speak publicly about her HIV status and to live her life positively (attitude) with the hope that God has a purpose for her life, and she doesn't want to miss any of it. Options is excited to have her as a facilitator for a new support program starting early next year for people testing positive for HIV. She wants to spread the news that in Christ there is hope, for everyone...







An awesome evening of ministry wrapped up with prayer for these students to hold on to God, allowing Him to keep them pure, free from any STI, until marraige!