CAPE TOWN– “The only thing that is needed when you are HIV positive is to take care of your body and treatment,” said a Khayelitsha HIV/Aids activist, Babalwa Mazaleni. The 42-year-old woman from Gabuza Estate in Harare was diagnosed with the disease in November 2008.
“I never got sick with HIV/Aids. I would say I found out about my status accidentally. I didn’t expect it. I was working in Cape Town at one of the retail shops. I was on lunch time and went to buy food at one of the restaurants there. While I was waiting for my order, I saw a mobile clinic across the street testing people. People were testing and getting R30 airtime. And people were getting tested and getting the airtime and leaving,” explained Mazaleni.
She said after she got tested the nurse asked her to wait aside and later briefly explained the outcome of the results and gave her a referral letter to the nearest clinic where she was staying. “From that mobile clinic I even forgot that I ordered food and I didn’t even take the airtime. I went straight to work. I got sick immediately. I couldn’t work. I told my supervisor that I was not feeling well. I said I ate chicken meat and my stomach is not right and he allowed me to go home,” she laughed, citing that she was shaking and sweating at the same time.
Mazaleni said the first person she talked to about her status was her mother.
“I’m so close to my mother. Immediately when I arrived home, I told my mother. She never judged me, instead, she comforted me. The following day she accompanied me to go to Michael Mapongwana Community Day Clinic in Harare,” she said, adding that she did some tests at the clinic before starting to take the treatment.
Mazaleni said she never got sick to the point that she needed to be hospitalised ever since she got to know her status.
However, she confessed that she was a bit disturbed by the news cited and she ended up using alcohol as a coping mechanism. She said she was dumped by her boyfriend.
“I informed my boyfriend about it. He didn’t show any signs of frustration or shock. Instead, after a few days I informed him I saw him already taking HIV/Aids tablets citing that he got them the clinic. My boyfriend used to take some tablets even before I knew about my status, but I didn’t know they were HIV/Aids tablets. I used to see them when I was cleaning his house. I knew about them after I saw mine and compared it to his. I was flabbergasted because for me it took some time to start taking treatment. I went through some tests,” recalled Mazaleni, adding that at that time she already joined the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).
She said within six months her boyfriend got married after he dumped her. Mazaleni said that was the last straw in her life. She said she became a heavy drinker. However, she changed and started to live a clean life for the sake of her only child and people around her.
“Now, I am an HIV/Aids activist. Everyone knows me. I speak openly about my status. The little chance I get I talk about my status; I encourage people to stop defaulting on the treatment. HIV is nothing compared to other chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure. As long as you are living a healthy life taking your tablets you are safe,” said Mazaleni, adding that there is no stigma anymore now.
Mazaleni, who is also a tuberculosis (TB) survivor, expressed her gratitude to all people who supported her during difficult times.
