CELLPHONES AGAINST HIV & AIDS

CELLPHONES AGAINST HIV & AIDS sadmin Tue, 08/26/2014 - 12:09

loveLife, South Africa's National HIV Prevention Programme for Young People, is using cell phones to fight HIV and Aids among the youth. MYMsta is the world's first cell-based social network for youth empowerment and HIV prevention.

In a move to prevent HIV infections among youth, loveLife started MYMsta in June 2008. Those with WAP-enabled cell phones can join MYMsta on www.mymsta.mobi and access a range of information.

loveLife set up the MYMsta mobile social network because almost 75 per cent of South African youth have access to cell phones, while only 6 per cent have access to the Internet. MYMsta is a call to young people to "Make Your Move".

The Make Your Move campaign comes from studies which show that young people do get the message about HIV prevention. But what continues to drive HIV is not their response to the message, but their response to their circumstances. The belief that they have limited opportunities is the main driver of the HIV and Aids epidemic in South Africa. One of MYMsta's main goals is to link youth to volunteer programmes, bursaries, learnerships, internships and job opportunities.

Young people who feel they have opportunities are more likely to protect themselves from HIV because they feel they have something to live for. MYMsta also offers sexual health, motivational and life skills information, world news, movies and music reviews along with other interesting features. loveLife works in partnership with the Natio-nal Youth Com-mission (NYC).

Health

KEEPING YOUR CREDIT RECORD CLEAN

KEEPING YOUR CREDIT RECORD CLEAN sadmin Tue, 08/26/2014 - 12:42

Following the right steps when you have a problem with your credit record will help to solve the problem quicker.

The first step to take when you do not agree with your credit information, is to contact the credit bureau. Tell them about your problem and ask them to correct the information. But remember to keep a record of all payments you have made.

In line with the National Credit Act, the credit bureau must solve your problem within a period of 20 working days.

Credit information

You can only go to the office of the Credit Information Ombud if you have tried to solve the problem with the credit bureau.

In line with the law, the office of the Credit Information Ombud can only handle complaints if it was reported to the credit bureau and they cannot solve the problem.

First point of call

It is important for people to remember that the credit bureau is the first point of call to complain about incorrect information on your credit record.

The credit bureau is forced by law to look into every complaint they get from people about credit information on records. If you don't agree with your credit information, you can take the following steps to lodge a complaint at the credit bureau:

Make sure you have a record of all payments you have made on outstanding accounts
Call the credit bureau and get a copy of your credit record - remember you are entitled to a free report per year.
The credit bureau must give you a reference number when you lodge a complaint
After you have lodged the complaint you must give the credit bureau a period of 20 working days to solve the problem.

If you're not happy

If, after the 20 working days period, you are not happy with the outcome of the investigation, you can take your complaint to the Credit Information Ombud. Remember to send them the complaint together with the reference number you got from the credit bureau. The services of the Credit Information Ombud are free.

- Muzi Mkhwanazi