"I believe HIV is about people", says Beauty Ntombizanele Zondi, with the directness of a seasoned peer educator. "If we can talk openly about cancer, then why not HIV? It's human. After all, we're talking about life."  Zondi, who has been a peer educator - or "wellness champion" - at Standard Bank for the past six years, certainly knows a thing or two about life.

This 45-year-old mother of two and skills facilitator at the bank tells how she got involved in HIV/AIDS in the workplace. "At that time there was not enough education and people were dying and suffering. That motivated me to say, ‘How can people be dying when there are others here to help them?"

What was then Standard Bank's fledgling HIV/AIDS programme has grown tremendously in the past six years - a process Zondi has been integrally involved with - into one of the country's top HIV/AIDS initiatives in business (Standard Bank was a runner up in the 2005 Khomanani Excellence Awards).

As well as an army of around 3 500 wellness champions in Standard Bank branches around the country, who give education, counselling and referral advice to employees, there is also excellent medical, emotional, dietary and lifestyle support on hand for those who need it: through BankMEd, HIV-positive employees can access medical care as well as R33 000 per year for medication per HIV-positive family member.

The Independent Counselling and Advisory Services (Icas) is contracted to give counselling (six sessions or more) to individuals who test positive. Wellness champions like Zondi and those she trains are also entitled to "debriefing" sessions with Icas counsellors. "As champions who are rolling out VCT training, we have to manage our own emotions before we can manage others. Often enough you are the first person an employee in need will contact," says Zondi, who has just taken a call from an HIV-positive individual who has just found out about her status and does not know who to turn to.

Although, with the growth of the programme, people's attitudes have changed, says Zondi, there is still a long way to go. "Before, people were quite resentful and used to label you. I used to be called ‘the AIDS lady'. But when you are passionate about something it doesn't really matter what people say. It doesn't make you any less of a person."

'We make sure there is a "Wow" moment'

"Today, people are more educated and more aware," says Zondi. However, there is still an element of stigma. "As much as we are doing our best to turn things around, people are still afraid to speak about their status." Although some HIV-positive employees would gladly come out into the open about their status, Zondi says they are not encouraged to do so yet, because the environment is not conducive. "I would like to see an open forum where people can be free to disclose their status. But we can only make this happen when people are better informed," she says, adding however that some people "still hold secrets", which negatively affects their performance at work, not to mention their well-being in general. The idea is for people to come to terms with their status and live positively, even if they are not open about it.

On the question of whether employees are experiencing "fatigue" around ongoing HIV/AIDS-related education, Zondi replies: "We constantly use different techniques. We bring different information all the time. We make sure there is always a ‘Wow! Moment' at every session, she says.

Currently, the latest challenge is to increase VCT uptake. We hope to see 100 percent uptake after our latest roll-out. "We've made it very easy for people to get access to testing and pre- and post-test counselling." Employees have special vouchers for VCT with nominated doctors in their own time or during office hours away from the workplace.

'Everyone should be healthy'

Also, with an emphasis on the "wellness" part of the programme, one doesn't have to be HIV-positive to benefit from it. Through BankMed, employees can access their lifestyle programme, and get regular information on a healthy lifestyle. Healthy food and exercise facilities are also on offer. "That's why we refer to ourselves as Wellness Champions. It's not just people with HIV who should be healthy. Everyone should be healthy."

Although Zondi's calm confidence cuts through the frenetic buzz of the Simmond Street head office, life as a peer educator is not without its challenges. "I have to put out 100 percent like any other employee and an extra 10 percent for HIV/AIDS," she says. She would like to have more time to help the people who need it and more time to network with other Standard Bank champions to discuss what works and what doesn't. The new peer educators forum will do much to offer a platform to network, debrief, compare notes and share advice, says Zondi.

"Dealing with HIV is not easy," she adds. "So many different problems are presented." Managers worried about the bottom line are not always in step with the "passion" of the peer educators, in her view. "The communication between the champions and the managers is not always that good." However, she says, buy-in from top managers has lent tremendous weight to their programme.

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