Positive thinking

"Cuddly" might not be a concept you'd readily associate with HIV/AIDS, but that's exactly the point of Kami (pictured below), the newest cute and fuzzy monster to join the cast of the South African offshoot of Sesame Street, Takalani Sesame.

Kami, whose name means 'Acceptance' in Sotho—one of South Africa's 11 official languages—is an HIV+ orphan, introduced into the show's second season on Sept. 30 to teach kids age-appropriate lessons in tolerance and loss. In a country where it's estimated that one in nine people are infected by the disease and AIDS is an accepted everyday reality, they're valuable lessons indeed and Kami gets lots of hugs from the other muppets.

Kami's huggability is good for potential licensors too, and there has been "unbelievable interest," according to Jann Bekker at Nu Metro Licensing, a Johannesburg-based company that holds the rights for Takalani Sesame. "We're looking at the possibility of doing storybooks, a quick-serving restaurant promotion, a trading card game, consumables like ice cream, puzzles, balls, chalkboards, plush, educational board games and possibly even clothing," Bekker says.

According to Bekker, merchandise would likely be developed locally to defray the high cost of importing product that would put it out of the price range of Takalani's audience which falls very much within the emerging market. The merchandise would be sold through major South African toy retailers like Toys R Us, as well as through supermarket chains, news agents and trade stores. Meanwhile, Bekker says nothing is confirmed yet while Sesame Work-shop works on "restrategizing" the brand.