courage
COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.
SAVING SWAZILAND
JOHANE SIMELANE ’#$, M.A. Candidate,
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
AdvAncing the greAter good is AlwAys on the mind of Johane simelane.
“i grew up in swaziland, where 26% of the population is infected with hiv/Aids, the
highest rate in the world,” he says. “everyone there is affected by the disease, including
my family, my friends, and me.”
when no agency would support his idea of conducting focus groups on swazi percep-
tions of adult male circumcision as a way to fight the hiv/Aids pandemic, simelane
did it himself through funds from skidmore’s see-Beyond program and contacts he
developed with the swazi ministry of health. through his research, he discovered
widespread misperceptions leading to poor choices.
says simelane, “even well-intended health programs can do more harm than good
without trained professionals to design and run them. As soon as i earn my master’s,
i’m headed home to make a difference.”
