very week CNN International's
African
Voices highlights Africa's most engaging personalities,
exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open
themselves up to the camera. This week we profile the cast members
of "Shuga," the hit MTV drama following young students living with
the specter of HIV/AIDS in Nairobi.
Watch the show on Saturdays 1130 and 1830 GMT, Sundays 1700 GMT
and Monday 1130 and 1630 GMT.
(CNN) -- "It's the story of morning afters and sweet
departures...and the stains we leave on each other" -- so begins
the trailer for "Shuga," a cutting-edge MTV drama that's been a
smash hit in Africa.
For many young Africans, the three-part TV series about a group
of students in Nairobi living under the constant specter of
HIV/AIDS is the story of their own lives -- and is the reason
"Shuga" took the continent by storm when it debuted late last
year.
Actress Sharon Olago, who played promiscuous party girl Violet
in "Shuga," believes the Kenyan show has been so successful because
it mirrors the complexities of modern young life, without falling
into a moralistic, conventional narrative on safe sex.
"'Shuga' did not exaggerate anything, it relived what Kenya is,"
says Olago. "That is why it got the fame it did, that is why people
jumped into it, because people saw themselves in it."
Set and filmed on location in Nairobi, the soap opera came about
after UNICEF teamed up with MTV to create a health campaign to
impact the lives of youths in Kenya, where an estimated 6.5 percent
of its population lives with HIV.
Video: 'Shuga' star on her U.S.
education
Video: 'Shuga': A message of safe
sex
Part of MTV's Staying Alive campaign, "Shuga" was designed and
produced to draw its young audience to crucial health and social
issues. Its bold style distinguished it from many other TV shows in
Africa and won it fans across the continent.
The show follows Ayira, a 22-year old college student whose
ambition and hunger for the high life is complicating her
relationship with her boyfriend Ty; Ayira's friend Violet, a party
girl whose many sexual exploits is straining her friendships; and
Kenneth, Skola and Leo, members of the wealthy, swaggering, fast
boy crew on campus.
"Shuga" portrays a modern city, complete with the vices that go
hand in hand with 21st century life. At the center of most of the
action is Ayira, played by Lupita Nyong'o.
While the MTV and UNICEF campaign driving the show emphasizes
the importance of safe sex and HIV testing, it also talks about
"how HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence -- and that's a really,
really important thing," according to Nyong'o.
'Shuga' did not exaggerate anything, it relived what Kenya
is...That is why people jumped into it, because people saw
themselves in it.
--Actress Sharon Olago
"If one catches it early on, you can live a healthy life with
HIV," the actress, who is currently enrolled in a drama course at
Yale University in the United States, told CNN.
Nyong'o, whose mother worked in a family planning clinic when
she was a child, says "Shuga" has given her a platform to speak
about HIV/AIDS to a wider audience.
The show has struck a chord with young audiences. A staggering
60 percent of Kenyan youths saw "Shuga" -- and 90 percent said they
intended to change their behavior as a result, according to a
survey conducted by Johns Hopkins University following the show's
broadcast.
The show not only made an impact on its viewers, however; its
cast says "Shuga" forever changed their lives for the better.
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