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Dancing in a storm

15 May, 2015 - 02:05 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Catherine Murombedzi HIV
“BEING told that you are now going to live with aunt so and so was part of my life. I was not consulted and it never occurred to my relatives that this affected me negatively. I could be moved without being consulted like a parcel.“Most of the times I would have gone for a school holiday and looked forward to going back to my old school but as the holiday came to a close I was told I am not going back. I cried all night long. No time to say good bye to my friends at my previous school. That became a part of my life,” this was said by Loyce Maturu who is now aged 23 and is a peer counsellor with AFRICAID, Zvandiri+.

Today Loyce has spoken at international conferences and as an adolescent born with the HIV virus she speaks for her peers on the fears and expectations of settling down and having a family.

“I lost my mother in 2000 and I was very young then. I had a sibling who was younger than me who also died within a week of my mother’s death, it was so painful. I do not remember my father since he died when I was very young,” said Maturu.

“This has been a journey and that today I am able to disclose my status has been a process. No one is forced to disclose but I felt empowered and after three years I was able to say ‘Ndozvandiri’ that is who I am. That is what I am. So I understand my peers who fail to accept being born HIV positive, it is process and one day you will accept if helped and counselled correctly,” said Maturu.

“I got to know of my HIV status in 2004. I was treated at Newlands Clinic in Harare and my CD4 Count stood at 500. I was put on cotrimoxazole tablets as a way to wad off infectious diseases like tuberculosis, skin rashes and diarrhoea. I only commenced anti retroviral therapy in 2009,” she said.

Maturu said she was able to accept her condition after having been introduced to AFRICAID, Zvandiri+. This took me three years to accept because I always asked the question why and got no answers.

“It helps to be a member of an organisation or support group and for me I specifically got a helping hand from AFRICAID Zvandiri+. As an organisation we were so pleased as we got recognition in 2010 when we got the Auxillia Chimusoro Award.

“That award is the highest honour for any field working in HIV so we used our prize money wisely. We sing and dance as a way of relieving stress and we all agreed that we would go into the studio and record. We had been dancing all the years and had weathered the storm so our CD was aptly named ‘How to dance’. This got us recognition as everyone who saw it asked who these brilliant kids were?” said Maturu.

“Our CD brought awareness of children born HIV positive, that they have rights too and like everyone else deserve good health and education,” she said.

“We were pleased as a great singer of child rights named Baba Shupi agreed to work with us on the CD and the end product was superb, He was appointed Zvandiri ambassador.

“Our CD is played at world AIDS conferences, ICASA and is also available on YOUTUBE by the same name.”.

Maturu said growing up facing stigma and discrimination weighed her down but got strength as a peer in Zvandiri+. Together with friends in the orgnanisation she learnt how to dance in a storm.

Maturu envisages a Zimbabwe free from new HIV infections, zero discrimination and no AIDS related deaths.

“No child must be born HIV positive again. It happened in the past when there was no medication and it should never occur to any child today,” she added.

Maturu said she looks to a bright future and sees HIV as no obstacle.

“I have a fiancée and he knows of my HIV status. Many people think that it’s a fib when I say I am HIV positive and have been since birth. I am healthy and live a normal life. I would like to have a big family of five,” said Maturu.

AFRICAID has nurtured champions and with such youths HIV will be a thing of the past.

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