Day 2 of Treatment - Anna

Treatment at 10:00 a.m.  We are joined by Tumelo*, Naledi’s partner.  Tumelo and Naledi are both Zulus, and part of the same evangelical church.  Naledi explains that Tumelo was very sick, unable to walk, and that she tried over a period of time to get close to him, because she could see that he was very ill, and suspected that he too was HIV+.  After a while, she persuaded him to go for a test, and indeed, he was positive.  He went onto ARVs and got better - able to work as a gardener.  But the ARVs have made him feel very sick, affected his mind, and six months ago he stopped taking them. Naledi and Tumelo think it is love which has triggered his improvement.



It is hard, from England, to appreciate quite how strong is the stigma that attaches to HIV. Many many people are never diagnosed. They die undiagnosed, without treatment. And their families do not speak of it. Sometimes bodies are dumped.  Children turned out, and if they are HIV+, themselves ostracised. Many families where the eldest person is aged 10. It is estimated that 40% of the population in this province, KwaZulu Natal, are infected. In some communities, it must be much higher.

 

Khetani township, home to some 6000 Zulus near the town of Winterton, KwaZulu Natal

Tumelo talked in Zulu, and once he overcame his reserve - this must be a strange group for him - he was impassioned, obviously eloquent. He talked of his sadness that his children have abandoned him since he became ill, and tension was written all over his face and reflected in his thin body.

Today, in the treatment, Clive feels very tired.  Weary, falling asleep tired, despite a good night’s sleep.

*His name has been changed to protect his privacy.