The lifestyles of more than 400 men, all employees from the provincial Department of Public Works in Vhembe, are set to take drastic changes for the better. This follows a men-only workshop they attended last Wednesday, where they took a stand to be of help and be counted on by their families. The life-changing workshop, under the theme “The role of men in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV", through the slogan “You can count on me", took place at the Thohoyandou Town Hall. Men were encouraged to change their lifestyles, assist their HIV+ spouses in making sure that the disease is not transmitted to the child, use condoms, assist their pregnant spouses and practice general child care. The coordinator of the function, Mr Frank Mavhungu, who is also the human resources manager of the department in the district, said the workshop was of importance. “As men we should meet from time to time and discuss issues that affect us and we cannot share this with our spouses. Men have shown that they speak freely when they are on their own and this gives them the rare opportunity to share experiences with each other. Men need information and are more than ready to change their lives,” he said. Mavhungu said the staff members of the department had realized that the rate of absenteeism and sick leave was escalating from time to time. He added that the prevalence of deadly diseases like HIV amongst employees was also contributing to the loss of personnel with rare skills, which leads to decreased production. “We could not just sit down and pretend nothing is happening. We should stand up together and look for a solution to the problem,” he said. He said family violence was also a cause for concern amongst employees, as many were living under protection orders from their spouses after the latter had used violence as a solution to their problems. As a department, they also sought to discourage infidelity amongst members of their staff. “Most of our staff do not stay with their spouses all the time as they work far away and stay in camps. The opportunity to conduct extramarital affairs is possible and we have to discourage them from engaging themselves in such practices as they could find themselves exposed to diseases which they could pass on to their spouses,” he said. Mavhungu further said they were planning to conduct workshops for women in their employ and later call them together and look at their problems and solutions together. “We have to listen to both sides, what their problems are. Then we must sit together and find a lasting solution, so that we can bridge the gap between men and women. If they meet halfway, chances are that a lasting solution and an end to violence could be achieved,” he said. Mr Calvin Molokomme of Limindlela Development and Projects is following President Zuma’s call for men to play an active role in supporting their spouses through pregnancies. He said men were leaders in their families and were to lead by example. “God made us heads of our families and leadership goes with responsibility. Let us be counted on by our families; let us be pillars of support to our families,” he said. He encouraged men to be courageous and go for voluntary HIV testing in order to know their status.