HIV-AIDS: ‘Namibia is under attack’

A WINDHOEK woman on Monday announced that she is HIV positive.

Thirty-five-year-old Vicky Bam, a mother of one, made her status public at an International Women’s Day ceremony in Windhoek. Bam told a gathering of about 250 women from various women’s organisations that when she fell pregnant in 2002, she went for a voluntary test.”My results came back positive and it is from then – in August 2002 – that my new life started,” Bam told the audience.She said that three months after being diagnosed HIV positive, her life was hell and she even thought of committing suicide.At that stage she met a certain Peter Busse at a workshop organised by by the Danish NGO Ibis in 2002.She said Busse had encouraged her to accept being positive.A few weeks later, when she wanted to give up again, she received a call that her baby was in hospital.”But then I pulled myself together and reminded myself that I didn’t want to give up.I had a long way to go,” she told the hushed gathering.Bam is a volunteer with Women AIDS Support and Networking (WASN) where she works as a caretaker for orphans.”Let us all join hands and stand up to fight against HIV-AIDS.Because we must realise that Namibia is indeed under attack,” she challenged participants.Bam told a gathering of about 250 women from various women’s organisations that when she fell pregnant in 2002, she went for a voluntary test.”My results came back positive and it is from then – in August 2002 – that my new life started,” Bam told the audience.She said that three months after being diagnosed HIV positive, her life was hell and she even thought of committing suicide.At that stage she met a certain Peter Busse at a workshop organised by by the Danish NGO Ibis in 2002.She said Busse had encouraged her to accept being positive.A few weeks later, when she wanted to give up again, she received a call that her baby was in hospital.”But then I pulled myself together and reminded myself that I didn’t want to give up.I had a long way to go,” she told the hushed gathering.Bam is a volunteer with Women AIDS Support and Networking (WASN) where she works as a caretaker for orphans.”Let us all join hands and stand up to fight against HIV-AIDS.Because we must realise that Namibia is indeed under attack,” she challenged participants.

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