If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

If I kept it to myself
In the community, my mother helped by talking
to other mothers, sadly some would say we
shouldn’t come near their families because
I would infect them. The discrimination and
stigmatisation continued like this until I decided
to consult with our chief who called a community
meeting to address the issue. I continued to tell
people about HIV and my experiences because
I wanted them to start talking and face the reality
in their own community. Today, things are much
better and the very same people who were
mocking me now need me the most. I have since
started the Motjane HIV and AIDS Prevention
Initiative (MHAPI), which involves members of
my community, in building awareness of HIV and
AIDS.
I am a community worker and I do home visits
for PLWHA. During my visits I not only provide
emotional, psychological, and spiritual support,
but I also do physical work like collecting
firewood, cleaning the house, bathing and
feeding the clients. I also provide referrals as
needed.
The MHAPI leadership works closely with my
community chief, Chief Sipho Shongwe who at
the time was the country’s Minister of Health.
We did all we can to get influential individuals
involved in our campaigns against stigma and
discrimination of PLWHA. I first met the Minister
of Health at a HIV and AIDS workshop organised
by UNICEF. At the time, he was the Regional
Administrator. I used the opportunity to talk
about HIV and AIDS in our community. He was
impressed and introduced me to his inner council.
Since then, three members of his council have
declared their status to the community. Working
with the chief has been very interesting and
has given us the opportunity to reach different
committees. He has also helped mobilise
funds for our project and brought specialists to
volunteer with us. Now, other communities are
inviting us to help get their leaders involved.
MHAPI was the first initiative involving a chief in
advocating for the community, and the impact
has been great.
My public life has led to wonderful opportunities
to get involved at all levels. When the
Ministry of Health was putting together its first
manual for implementation of HIV and AIDS
programmes, I became involved by collecting
data for a number of surveys. The manual,
‘Behavioural Surveillance Survey’ (B.S.S)
provides programme managers with ways to
implement HIV and AIDS prevention intervention
programmes that respond to trends in risk
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behaviour. I was also involved in the national
surveillance on HIV and AIDS.
I have also been involved in the development of
national guidelines on HIV and AIDS policy and
participated in national, regional and international
conferences on HIV and AIDS. In developing
the national guidelines and policy, I brought the
voice of the community and the experience of
living with HIV to the process. We considered
how the policy could address issues by not
only concentrating on the medical aspects, but
also on the social aspects. We also stressed
the greater involvement of PLWHA at all levels
of interventions. I am happy that the guidelines
and policy address confidentiality and disclosure
alongside treatment, care and support.
As people living with and affected by HIV and
AIDS, we are benefiting from the roll out of antiretroviral
treatment and are seeing stakeholders
advocating and lobbying for comprehensive care
and support. The country is doing its best even
though some components are not in place; lack
of skilled manpower is contributing greatly to the
delay in implementing activities. As per policy
requirements, nurses are being trained in antiretroviral
treatment, and I am delighted to be one
of the trainers.
I strongly advocate for unity among HIV positive
people, we must show love and support to each
other. If I do not do good to others today, no one
will come to my rescue in my time of need. It is
important that we practice what we preach and
be role models in our society. Our support group
is growing daily; membership has grown to 580.
We have 20 groups and I work closely with group
leaders by visiting them in their regions. Our
commitment to others is to maintain our dignity
and value one another until the last day. The
community is motivating all members to be in
control of their lives and we encourage PLWHA to
have ownership of these activities.
Born: 1975
Country: Swaziland:
Organisation: TASC,
SASO
Campaigns for:
psychological, and
spiritual support;
national guidelines on
HIV and AIDS