Fwd: An encounter with Aids

[Guest guest]

An encounter with Aids

2008-11-23 12:02:31

By Correspondent Edwin Agola just back from Mwanza

The sun sets behind Ukerewe Nansio Islands of Lake ; from a

distance Judith Atieno (pictured) stares helplessly as she

says goodbye to her departed husband.

Disappointed but not defeated, she fought tirelessly for her late

husband`s assets to liberate her three children educationally from

uncaring tribesmen.

Widow Judith tested HIV positive in 2003, 11 years after the death

of

her spouse Ruby phat Manyasi from what doctors could only reveal

to her as Tuberculosis (TB). ``By 1992 HIV/Aids was not known to

many, and screening for the scourge was not easy,`` she told this

reporter.

She only overheard her brothers-in-law in the corridors at the

burial, that she would soon follow her husband.

The scramble for a three bed-roomed house at Mwanza by her husband`s

relatives ensued soon after the burial and her resistance to perform

purification rites fueled the enmity.

Widows who submit to the ritual are obliged to have unprotected sex

three times a day over the course of a week under supervision of

sisters-in law.

The practice she said is thought to purify a woman and her home

after

her husband & #65533;s death and is common among members of the

societies in

the Lake zone.

Failure to carry out purification rites is thought to bring bad luck

to the family, such as unemployment, illness and even death.

As a result, widows are under considerable pressure to submit to the

ritual. She secretly returned to Mwanza with a will written on a

piece of rough paper during her spouse`s last days instructing

whoever is concerned that she is the bona fide caretaker of the

assets, vowing never to set her foot at Murutunguru village, where

she planted the remains of her husband.

Four years later, she began coughing up blood and was diagnosed with

Tuberculosis (TB), half paralysed, pale and lost weight, which she

believed was a reaction as a result of strong dose.

After undergoing numerous agonies she sought shelter at a church and

a public confession by a church member who has tested HIV positive

aroused her ego and her narration to them how to protect themselves

from new infection by indulging in economic activities.

Inwardly, she made a decision to take the test and when the result

showed that she had tested positive, she publicly declared her

status, something that did not go well with her critics.

``It was like baptismal fire and skeptics argued that I was

attracting public sympathy to get funds to educate my children,``

she

told The Guardian on Sunday.

Judith says she has not started taking Antiretroviral (ARVs) because

her CD4 cells according to doctors are still strong.

She cites adherence and observing doctor`s instruction as key to

remain healthy.

She has since then refrained from involving in sexual intercourse,

giving birth and taking alcohol.

She founded Tanzania Women Living with HIV/Aids (TAWOLIHIA) with 80

members in 2003 but unfortunately 45 of them have succumbed to the

deadly disease, leaving the group with 35 members.

She attributes the deaths to that period (between 2003 and 2008)

when

ARVs were not readily available and those who defied doctor`s

instructions.

``Women should wake up and stand firm in demanding their rights to

live beyond 72 years, irrespective of being HIV positive,`` she

advises.

Being open, focused and hopeful she said, is the shield and defender

of the secret behind their success, and named secrecy, worry as the

worst enemy to those who have acquired HIV/Aids.

``The idea that I will die soon has vanished miraculously from my

mind and I am living positively.``

She hailed an NGO Agents of ation on Research and Development

(ACORD) for supporting the group by providing capacity building in

awareness creation, which she believes is critical to their

survival.

SOURCE: Sunday Observer

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

An encounter with Aids

2008-11-23 12:02:31

By Correspondent Edwin Agola just back from Mwanza

The sun sets behind Ukerewe Nansio Islands of Lake ; from a

distance Judith Atieno (pictured) stares helplessly as she

says goodbye to her departed husband.

Disappointed but not defeated, she fought tirelessly for her late

husband`s assets to liberate her three children educationally from

uncaring tribesmen.

Widow Judith tested HIV positive in 2003, 11 years after the death

of

her spouse Ruby phat Manyasi from what doctors could only reveal

to her as Tuberculosis (TB). ``By 1992 HIV/Aids was not known to

many, and screening for the scourge was not easy,`` she told this

reporter.

She only overheard her brothers-in-law in the corridors at the

burial, that she would soon follow her husband.

The scramble for a three bed-roomed house at Mwanza by her husband`s

relatives ensued soon after the burial and her resistance to perform

purification rites fueled the enmity.

Widows who submit to the ritual are obliged to have unprotected sex

three times a day over the course of a week under supervision of

sisters-in law.

The practice she said is thought to purify a woman and her home

after

her husband & #65533;s death and is common among members of the

societies in

the Lake zone.

Failure to carry out purification rites is thought to bring bad luck

to the family, such as unemployment, illness and even death.

As a result, widows are under considerable pressure to submit to the

ritual. She secretly returned to Mwanza with a will written on a

piece of rough paper during her spouse`s last days instructing

whoever is concerned that she is the bona fide caretaker of the

assets, vowing never to set her foot at Murutunguru village, where

she planted the remains of her husband.

Four years later, she began coughing up blood and was diagnosed with

Tuberculosis (TB), half paralysed, pale and lost weight, which she

believed was a reaction as a result of strong dose.

After undergoing numerous agonies she sought shelter at a church and

a public confession by a church member who has tested HIV positive

aroused her ego and her narration to them how to protect themselves

from new infection by indulging in economic activities.

Inwardly, she made a decision to take the test and when the result

showed that she had tested positive, she publicly declared her

status, something that did not go well with her critics.

``It was like baptismal fire and skeptics argued that I was

attracting public sympathy to get funds to educate my children,``

she

told The Guardian on Sunday.

Judith says she has not started taking Antiretroviral (ARVs) because

her CD4 cells according to doctors are still strong.

She cites adherence and observing doctor`s instruction as key to

remain healthy.

She has since then refrained from involving in sexual intercourse,

giving birth and taking alcohol.

She founded Tanzania Women Living with HIV/Aids (TAWOLIHIA) with 80

members in 2003 but unfortunately 45 of them have succumbed to the

deadly disease, leaving the group with 35 members.

She attributes the deaths to that period (between 2003 and 2008)

when

ARVs were not readily available and those who defied doctor`s

instructions.

``Women should wake up and stand firm in demanding their rights to

live beyond 72 years, irrespective of being HIV positive,`` she

advises.

Being open, focused and hopeful she said, is the shield and defender

of the secret behind their success, and named secrecy, worry as the

worst enemy to those who have acquired HIV/Aids.

``The idea that I will die soon has vanished miraculously from my

mind and I am living positively.``

She hailed an NGO Agents of ation on Research and Development

(ACORD) for supporting the group by providing capacity building in

awareness creation, which she believes is critical to their

survival.

SOURCE: Sunday Observer

--- End forwarded message ---