Living with HIV in South Africa
| The last four years have been a difficult and long journey for Skhumbuzo. When he was first diagnosed with HIV, many people made fun of him, called him names and did not want to be associated with him. But thanks to the South African Red Cross' home-based care programmes, his fortune soon changed.
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| Sthembile, a Red Cross facilitator, helped him come to terms with his status and to start living positively again. She encouraged Skhumbuzo to eat more healthily, and as he grew stronger, her support and encouragement made him want to work with the Red Cross to promote openness and awareness of the disease among other young people. | | |  | |
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He says: "They helped me and now I'm helping others."
The South African Red Cross runs eight home-based care programmes for people living with HIV.
The British Red Cross supports two of these in KwaZulu Natal region, the worst affected region in South Africa. The programmes provide simple healthcare and help people help each other.
Now that Skhumbuzo is much better, people who once shunned him have started to talk to him again. He says: "Many of them do not believe that I still have the disease, they think it has gone away. I have to explain to them that it never goes away but that I choose to look after myself properly."
Old beliefs still play a big part in the denial about HIV and many seek traditional medicine to try and cure it. Skhumbuzo knows of young people who will not disclose their status for fear of losing their boyfriends or girlfriends.
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 | | | Since his mother died, Mlondi has been taken care of by his grandmother. The Red Cross' home-based care programme supports orphans and other vulnerable children like Mlondi. Volunteers also support his grandmother as she raises him, giving the family a wide range of practical assistance such as food and help at home.
With the support of the Red Cross volunteers, Mlondi is now attending school. | |
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Mlondi said: "I love my Red Cross Auntie because she gives me instant porridge!"
Beauty was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in 2000 but stopped her treatment before it finished. Four years later she became ill again and was re-diagnosed with TB. She then decided to take an HIV test and was found to be positive.
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| Beauty was in denial for a long time. A year after her diagnosis, Red Cross volunteers finally convinced her to start anti-retroviral treatment, which is helping Beauty recover her health.
Beauty said: "I was too stubborn. I wanted to keep quiet. I now want to thank the Red Cross volunteers for all their support." | | |  | |
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Children are one of the groups hardest hit by the HIV pandemic, which is particularly rife in Southern Africa.
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 | | | Dikeledi (18) is the eldest of five children who are cared for by their aunt following the death of their mother from AIDS in 2003. Each week Patricia Sebiji, a volunteer from the South African Red Cross Society, pays the family a visit to make sure they have everything they need, including food and blankets. Dikeledi knows Patricia very well. "When we have no money left to buy school materials, like stationery and school-books, the Red Cross provides them for us, along with a satchel. We were also given a tracksuit so that we can take part in sports activities at school," she says. | |
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When necessary, the Red Cross also pays school fees for children who do not receive a grant from the state. Dikeledi is lucky she is supported by her aunt, but there are thousands of children who have to leave school each year to provide for their brothers and sisters. | |
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