Living with people who have HIV

HELENA Reinhold was just eight years old when her mother was diagnosed with HIV back in 2004.

Reinhold (24) told Tthat living with her mother has taught her that people living with the virus are just as normal as anyone else.

An HIV activist, Reinhold told in an interview this week what it is like to live with people living with the virus and why there is still a need to sensitise the public to remove the stigma.

She advocates and fights stigma at her rural village in Okongo in northern Namibia – targeting those who are living with HIV and those living with them.

Reflecting on her childhood, Reinhold said she did not understand why her family suffered from the stigma when her mother, who is a health activist, came out in public about her status. ( cannot reveal her mother’s name.)

Reinhold said children, relatives and members of the community in general would make fun of her family due to her mother’s illness. It was at this point that a relative offered her mother accommodation at Okongo in northern Namibia, where she became an activist and joined Tonata in 2005.

Tonata is an organisation that creates support groups and advocates and advises people who are living with HIV.

Reinhold said her mother inspired her to also take up the fight against HIV, which is why she joined Tonata at the tender age of 12, in 2008.

Her life with her mother has been relatively normal and free from infections, as one cannot get HIV from sharing food, water or living spaces.

“Anyone can be infected with HIV. It can be you, your best friend or your parents or family members. HIV can affect all of us. A person living with HIV-AIDS has the same human rights and freedoms as any other. You have the right to human dignity and liberty. All people are equal, according to the law of this country, including those who are living with HIV-AIDS,” said Reinhold.

She said she has learned that maintaining a positive outlook on life and fighting for equality among those living with HIV and those who are negative is vital.

“People think very harshly of HIV, but it is like any other disease. It does not mean we cannot live together and work together. We, as young people, must fight this perception because we are the future,” said Reinhold.

Selma Sheefeni, an HIV-AIDS activist from Ongwediva, also said she has family members living with HIV, which is partly why she decided to become an activist.

She joined Tonata back in 2014.

“I learned that when someone is infected with HIV, there is really nothing abnormal about them. They are all just people and they must be treated as such,” said Sheefeni.

Another young Tonata activist, Wilbard Aluteni, who hails from Omalaala, has been staying with his sister’s child, who is living with HIV.

He said the girl was born with the virus, and he had to take care of her growing up, which spiked his activism against the stigma towards those who have HIV.

“My mother told me to respect my sister and, over the years, I have learned that people do not need to be afraid. A friend of mine recently found out he was infected but chose to take his own life instead. There are people who are infected but who have lived up to 10 or even 20 years with the virus,” said Aluteni.

He urged people to follow through with their treatment.

Victoria Kamule, the project advisor at Tonata, said they have qualified counsellors within the organisation who can provide quality counselling sessions for families and children.

“We are looking forward to having community members referring an individual to us,” she said.

Kamule said the fight against HIV has changed. She touched on some elements of their three-year strategic plan, which is to improve the capacity of the Tonata PLHIV (people living with HIV) representatives to influence policy at national and regional levels.

She also hopes the organisation can improve service delivery capacity for members to respond effectively in terms of prevention, treatment care and support services.

A community HIV counsellor, Emilie Kamwandi, said she has come across people living with HIV with whom she would share information, particularly on dealing with the stigma.

She gave an example of a young girl who needed help and information after being diagnosed.

Namibia Networks of AIDS Service Organisations executive director Sandi Tjaronda said the biggest challenge that people face now is the level of stigma towards those who are HIV positive.

“It is bedevilled, seen as dirty and also seen as an act that was brought on by sexual intercourse, while other ways of getting infected such as coming in contact with contaminated blood are not pondered on,” he said.

He said people who live with those who are HIV positive must be sensitive about what they say and instead offer encouragement and endorsement.

The first HIV case was detected in Namibia in 1986, and by the early to late 1990s, the epidemic became a leading cause of death in Namibia. Many strides have since been made in the fight against new HIV infections.

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