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THE global community probably deserves a good pat on the back.

A whole day has been set aside for people around the world to remember exactly how weary we should be of that menacing killer lurking in the dark ? that day being 1 December, International Aids Day.

But somehow, to my mind, one day just doesn't seem to cut it ? especially when dealing with a problem of this magnitude. A mere 24 hours just doesn't do HIV/Aids any justice, especially within a local context.

Aids is something most of us should know as intimately as we do the palm of our own hands. But, sadly, it seems this is still hardly the case, given that statistics show our country as having one of the highest growing rate of infections in the world.

"Scary," I thought when I first heard this on TV a few weeks ago. It's especially scary because it isn't as if we?ve been lacking in valiant efforts to inform and educate. So if we haven't been resting on our laurels, what exactly is wrong with this picture?

We've launched programmes to educate the ignorant and ill-informed and even championed a nationwide campaign to ease up on our innate conservatism and distribute condoms in public places. You could, for instance, be out shopping at the mall with your six-year-old son when all of a sudden you're greeted by a festive basket of condoms and freely available pamphlets sporting illustrations on how people ? adult or not ? need to have safer sex. We seem to be doing everything short of handing condoms out at major intersections.

Community leaders, local, national and provincial government officials have been seen publicly taking tests to encourage the rest of us to "know our status".

Even churches, like the one I saw one afternoon while driving through Kensington, sport banners proclaiming "This is an Aids friendly church".

But maybe the answer is bigger than just what government is offering to remedy the situation at the moment. Quite possibly the real answer lies much closer to home, and to the heart, than what we think.

We come from a conservative background. Take my own family, for instance. I would not, until the age of 23, have dreamt about even mentioning the word "sex" to or while in the company of my parents.

In some communities and circles it is just not done. Sad when in all likelihood it is a change of culture, a change in how we raise our children, the kinds of discussions we have in our living rooms, could also be the strategy to a healthier nation.

We're taught certain ideals and life skills by our parents or guardians. Up until a certain point, they?re the ones who show and tell us how life should be like "when we're big and grown".

If one entity holds so much power to influence, especially during our developing years, why haven't we been tapping into that very resource and make a bigger deal of promoting the use of it when it comes to one of the biggest problems we?ve had since Apartheid?

Parents should indoctrinate the ideal of safe sex to their children. The more it is drilled into children as they become young adults, the higher their chances of sticking to this philosophy throughout their lives.

Pie in the sky or not? Maybe it is the most realistic and practical way to see a change happen ? and to have those statistics move closer and closer to zero.

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