TB Victor : phenomenal woman

It’s international woman’s day today whilst the world also embarks on world TB month with TB day falling on the 24th of March..

In honour of a woman that has succumbed and overcome TB, today on radio I interviewed non other than siphokazi…a patient that underwent immense stigma and discrimation during her walk with TB…

“The hardest part about being infected is when people who where close to you neglect you and speak hurtful things about you…you would think your very own friends would support you, when you cannot even recognise yourself in the mirror…”

Siphokazi is an exemplary definition of strength and courage…withstanding all the negativity and leaching onto the support that her family and the Red Cross gave her…today she is live and well and TB free….

Little angels with bright futures

One of the most uplifting and rewarding feelings is lending a helping hand to orphaned and vulnerable children and then seeing the light in their eyes and the immerse joy they have from whatever little they have received…

This morning I spent alil time in a kids club in motherwell, a location in port elizabeth…where the majority of the kids are either infected with TB or HIV or have lost their parents to either of the diseases…

The mdr-tb project gave out school materials to a selected few who could not afford school stationary… 

“It’s hard having to support my grand children with only the grant I receive..when January came, I honestly didn’t know where to turn and just confided in the Red Cross care giver zanele assisting us…little did I know she would come through for my grandsons….nothing brings me so much joy than seeing my grandchildren being able to get the necessary education they require..”

loosing TB patient

being in a TB project and having the necessary training  to ensure one gives the appropriate education when needed can be challenging….

“its hard giving your all, going out of your way to give the necessary support the patients need to adhere to treatment “…says nomtha an MDR-TB project care worker..

‘meeting patients for the first time is hard, and for most they are afraid of the disease they are affected with and tend to shy away from disclosing’..

Today sadly we were faced with the sad news that one of our patients died…TB has been said to be the number one killer in South Africa….especially amongst those that are co-infected with HIV/AIDS…

Tuberculosis Leading cause of death in SA…

http://www.enca.com/south-africa/tuberculosis-still-leading-cause-of-death-statssa

project chicken mini-farm – income generating activity

sooo many times when monitoring projects one gets overwhelmed with the amount of poverty that the community folk are faced with…it’s hard seeing people suffering especially whilst infected with diseases that rip further away at their immunity…

the maluti project that provides psychosocial support to orphan and vulnerable children infected and affected with HIV came up with a solution and started a chicken mini farm…

A market was sourced with the first batch of chicks being sold making almost 50% profit…the profit funds are being pumped back to procure more chicks and chicken feed making the chicken farm self sustainable..

The project seeks to develop the skills of the volunteers and beneficiaries as they will be the ones to care for the chicken farm and is looking at having one mini farm in each village. grown chickens will be given to project beneficiaries at no cost to assist with food provision once farm is sustainable.

From project beneficiary to project peer educator

whilst conducting my monitoring visit in maluti where the red cross has an OVC project that supports children and youth infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, I got a chance to sit and have a chat with one of the project peer educators tshepho..

‘I found out I was HIV positive when I was 15 years old…funny enough I was the one that used to discriminate against others kids that suffered from the disease, little did I know that I too was infected’…

‘it was very difficult for me to disclose my status and when I first did, the church that supported me spoke about me to a group of kids who then spread the word that I was infected…I almost felt my life was over till Red Cross took me in and supported me…’

‘being faced with stigma and discrimination and now being a peer educator of the Red Cross, am armed to give out education that hits right on the nail…going back to the school where I studied in and changing the mindset that kids have towards HIV…’

being HIV positive is not a downfall, I was born with it and today am evidence that one can live a positive life…

adherent to treatment with barely anything to eat!!

when doing home visits for patients that are infected with MDR-TB one can never expect what they will encounter…every household is different, with each having their various levels of challenges…

today I met John (not real name)…who has been on treatment for two years…he lives alone with no grant and has no source of income…asked about his treatment he said ” i know fully well that if I stop taking my treatment, I will never get well….even though my cupboards are practically empty, the clinic atleast provides me with porridge which gives me some energy”…

John is not the first of many patients that are faced with poverty…within a space of two months, he lost a shocking 10kgs and is currently weighing 32kgs…

cracking a smile with TB facilitator lindeka, he is positive that things will get better now that he is registered to the Red Cross TB project…

the project provides vulnerable patients like John with quarterly food parcels and within the week will assist John in starting a home door step garden so that he could have access to vegetables which are essentials for improving his immunity..

young in age but old with wisdom

so many a times one tends to think that children have no real acknowledgement of what’s happening around them…and as adults we tend to walk as if walking on eggshells when they are around..truth is the majority of children are very aware and curious of their surroundings…

I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing 7year orphan who sadly lost his mother to HIV..when asked what world aids day meant to him, he responded by saying 

“it’s a time i remember the disease that took my mum and I still wish she was around”

his contagious smile and genuineness drew me to ask further what message he would give to others about HIV and his response was

“We need to love eachother regardless of what disease we have, life is short…when we love, we care for eachother…say no to HIV and yes to LOVE”..

with such wise words from such a young kindred spirit, makes one think how we need children to remind us that we not treating the disease but the person…

SAY NO TO HIV AND YES TO LOVE… as a little love can go a long way…❤

World Aids Days Event brings HIV Disclosure

Two Red Cross community care givers in the eastern cape, after our world aids day event that focused on key population with the theme ‘spread the love, don’t discriminate : HIV & ME’….took it upon themselves to disclose their status to the project staff…

“i want to open up a support group that supports those infected and encourage that what we as care givers are doing outside in the communities, should also start with us, in our homes…I am not angry with my husband whom I have been married to since I was 18years old (HIV free with him being the only man I have been with)…my wish is for him to test and also accept that he too could be HIV positive” says gonstana 

“i may be HIV positive but my husband of 13years is HIV negative…till today am not really sure where I got the disease from…I came from a harsh background where gender based violence was the order of the day…I sort out relationships simply for comfort…my wish would be for known HIV positive people to disclose to their spouses and not seek comfort for the wrong reasons”…says ntozini

Being HIV positive and being community care givers gives us the opportunity to effectively educate members of the community who are newly diagnosed..and being fully trained in HIV and sexual gender based violence gave us the necessary knowledge we needed to deal with our diagnosis..and now we living POSITIVE….

Meet SARCS EC HIV Ambassador

There are very few times when you meet a person and their story really gets to you, even more being totally blown away by the courage, boldness and strength they exhibit in rising above their situation…

“i know fully well what it is to be a victim of sexual gender based violence…I was raped three times and afterwards got diagnosed with HIV/AIDS”….”my diagnosis came as a blow but having volunteered at Red Cross as a peer educator made it easier for me to deal with it”…

“Being HIV positive does not hinder me from living my life to its greatest potential…and I would encourage those infected to accept their diagnosis and disclose as having a good support system plays a large role in boosting ones self esteem and overall positive health…”