HIV self-support groups give hope:

[Guest guest]

HIV self-support groups give hope:

[Health India] New Delhi, Oct 5 : They got infected separately by different

means but today they are bound by one cause - to live positive.

" Being HIV positive does not mean we cannot live like anybody else. We can fall

in love, get married and have sex, " Micky Wongwo (name changed), an HIV infected

patient said Tuesday.

" It is just that we have to be careful we do not spread it to anybody else, "

Wongwo told IANS.

He spoke on the sidelines of a news conference when the British government

announced an assistance package for India Tuesday.

Wongwo had been affected with HIV as a drug addict over five years back. Today,

he heads a support group called the Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+) that

supports about 80 infected people.

" Before I was a drug user, I disliked all drug addicts and, similarly, I

disliked all HIV patients till I was affected with HIV. And then, it converted

to hatred and jealousy for others and frustration, " he said.

" In India, the problem today is neither awareness nor lack of condoms, it is the

lack of attitude to use medicines, to adopt condoms and to prevent others from

having it. "

Through support group meetings where they sit and talk and laugh over common

problems, advocacy work to sensitise others and interactions with agencies, they

are striving to make a difference for HIV patients.

And each of them has stories to tell.

Sarita (name changed), 35, still does not know how she got infected. She thinks

it was from an infected needle at a clinic near her slum neighbourhood in north

Delhi.

All she knows is that she had unwittingly passed on the infection to her

husband, an electrician, who was then ostracised by family and neighbours.

" When I came to know of my condition, I was shocked, I didn't know what to do.

Even in our home, people started isolating us. We had separate plates, spoons,

soap and food. They would not let their children come near us and they had

already decided for us that we would die. "

Today, Sarita and her husband are two of the participants at the AIDS awareness

campaigns carried out by DNP+.

" We were not told that we could continue to live, continue to have hopes and

continue to dream. But we want to tell others, so that they wouldn't have to go

through the same phase. "

India has 5.1 million HIV-infected people which is the second highest in the

world after South Africa. It is 70 percent of the estimated infections in Asia.

As countries such as the US and Britain continue to pump in funds, condoms and

anti-retro viral medicines as part of a global effort, the rate of infection

keeps mounting.

The DNP+ members are now doing their best to curb the disease by educating the

infected people.

" It is important to make HIV infected people feel comfortable with themselves so

that they become responsible towards spreading of the virus, " said Wongwo.

" Their stories are all different, but they all have the same message to give. Be

hopeful, it is not the end of your life, " Wongwo said.

--Indo-Asian News Service

http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews & id=34871

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing those developments.

There is nothing like being comfortable with people who know how you feel and

also know the local acceptance level. It is truly amazing how HIV has become an

equalizer.

No matter what country, no matter what culture HIV has had the same obstacles

all over the world. The US, for example. We have more money per capita than any

other country. If that money were to be distrubted equally to every person we

would all be millionaires. But the money is not distrubted that way.

The US, like many places, is becoming a two tier economic level. Our middle

class is slipping away while the very rich and the very poor populations are

climbing. This impacts every single facet of life, including HIV.

When you set aside the financial numbers people in the US are in the same

situation, for our culture, as in any group on the planet. We all deal with

medicine shortages, red tape enough to wrap a herd of elephants, incredibly

stupid bigots, ignorance of the facts and stigma. Where ever you find HIV you

will find people who are a lot more alike, than we are dissimilar.

Jeanne Hatfield

E-mail: ravaids@...