If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

If I kept it to myself Promise Mthembu Many young people shy away from being tested and from talking openly about HIV infection; thus we have a silent, underground epidemic. These young people are in school, in tertiary institutions, and in the productive and reproductive years of their lives. My name is Promise Mthembu, a 31-year-old South African women living with HIV. I learnt about my HIV status in 1995 when I went for my tuberculosis (TB) check up. I was 20 years old at the time. I think I was infected when I was 15 years old as my child, who is now 14, is also living with HIV. Doctors speculate that she was infected at birth. When I received the result of my test, I was shocked and angry. I had been part of an HIV and AIDS project while in school, I knew about HIV, but I did not think it could happen to me. I had only one sexual partner and was from a religious family. Anger led me to start attending HIV and AIDS meetings. I wanted to change the way HIV and AIDS work was done. The campaigns at the time were not working; after all, if they were, I would not have been infected. Five months after receiving the devastating news of my HIV status, I began to talk openly about living with HIV. In an effort to challenge the approach of organisations working in the field, I decided to actively participate in those areas I found lacking. I began with the Department of Health Regional Office offering one on one counselling and handling written requests on HIV and AIDS education. Later, I volunteered for the Prince Mshiyeni Hospital as a counsellor and educator. During my time there, I established a support group, the first of many I was to initiate in the coming years. Between September 1996 and April 1997, I acted as the Durban regional coordinator for the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAPWA). With NAPWA, I coordinated support groups in the Durban region, 88 giving lectures and presentations. I also carried out office administration as required. During my tenure with NAPWA, The National AIDS Convention of South Africa KwaZulu Natal offered me a full-time position as a regional advocacy task team coordinator. It was in this position, as I organised advocacy team meetings and gave presentations to provincial parliament, that I established myself as an activist. In 1998, the South African Youth Commission offered me a position as a project coordinator for Positive Ambassadors. Although there has been plenty of HIV and AIDS education in South Africa, it had not managed to change the behaviour of young people. The South African Youth Commission identified its role in the campaign against the AIDS epidemic, and decided that it would adopt the Commonwealth Youth Programme’s concept of Young Positive Living Ambassadors. YPLA is aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 35. It had become evident that many programmes aimed at young people were not owned or driven by young people. In response to this gap, young people living with HIV drove the YPLA project. Its focus is behavioural change and positive living; working not only with HIV infected youth, but also with untested youth, vulnerable youth, and HIV negative youth as well. HIV infections among women younger than 20 years of age have been increasing in the KwaZulu Natal region. Young people who have tested HIV positive face huge discrimination in many sectors of society. Many young people shy away from being tested and from talking openly about HIV infection; thus we have a silent,
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS underground epidemic. These young people are in school, in tertiary institutions, and in the productive and reproductive years of their lives. While women are the most affected by HIV and AIDS, few campaigns are aimed at them. The ‘use condoms’ campaigns, for example, are largely aimed at men, as female condoms are not freely available. In poor communities it is difficult for a woman to convince her partner to use a condom if he does not want to. In my campaigns, I stress the importance of giving women skills to negotiate what they want in a sexual relationship. The YPLA identified human rights issues as a focus for their campaigns, and we took these up within the relevant structures. In my experience, there is an assumption that all women living with HIV practice safer sex. The reality is that as much as we want to, we may not be in a position to do so. However, all women have the right to reproduce. This includes women with HIV. In May 2000, I joined the HIV and AIDS Treatment Action Campaign of South Africa, (TAC) as their national advocacy project coordinator for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) project. My main duties were project management, advocacy, facilitating training workshops, staff management, including MTCT researchers and volunteers, report writing and fundraising. I coordinated a TAC demonstration held during the AIDS conference in Durban. The peaceful demonstration aimed to highlight treatment access, improved health infrastructure and prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child. The AIDS 2000 conference organisers were in full support of the demonstration as these issues are of utmost importance in global terms. More than 200 organisations representing millions of people across the world endorsed the call to march. These organisations and individuals demanded the lowering of all HIV and AIDS medication prices and the rights of people with HIV and AIDS to nutrition, health care, education and employment. Our unity across the globe is a breakthrough in the fight against the excessive power and profiteering of drug companies. As a single mother living with HIV, I emphasised that most of us die only because we are poor. Currently, I am the global advocacy officer for sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) for the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW). My duties include project management, drawing and implementing 89
Page 1 and 2:
If I kept it to young women interve
Page 3 and 4:
If I kept it to young women interve
Page 5 and 6:
Young women intervene in a world wi
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Education
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40: Young women intervene in a world wi
Page 63 and 64: Media and Communications
Page 81 and 82: Pioneers
Page 89: Young women intervene in a world wi
Page 100: In this book you will meet young wo
show all

If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?