Mertie Mberekwana, 44, sings as she walks through the long grass in the rural community of Amahlongwa, carrying two heavy bags of food in the midday African sun.
©InfoShe is a Red Cross volunteer and full of smiles when she reaches the home of Nomkhosi Mthethwa, 33, hands over the food and gives her a big hug. Mertie talks to Nomkhosi slowly and uses lots of hand gestures, then she gets out a pad and paper.
“Nomkhosi went deaf a couple of years ago,” Mertie explains. “I’m just checking to find out if her HIV medication is being taken and if it is working and if we need to go back to the clinic to get more tablets.”
Single mother
Two years ago Nomkhosi’s mother died and then Nomkhosi’s hearing stopped. But she didn’t do anything about it until a few months ago when the Red Cross found out about her and suggested a doctor might be able to help. Mertie also asked Nomkhosi if she would be interested in voluntary counselling and testing for HIV.
Nomkhosi decided to do this and this is when she discovered she was HIV positive. The doctor put her on antiretroviral therapy, which they thought might also help her hearing come back. Mertie says: “After three months, if her hearing hasn’t improved we will take her back to the doctor and they will apply for a hearing aid. But we’re crossing our fingers that her hearing comes back.
“Nomkhosi doesn’t have much family, only one brother, who visits occasionally. She also has a 13-year-old son, who is not well. A month ago he fell and broke his neck but he survived, although he still needs to go to the clinic for follow ups. She doesn’t have a husband and the father of her son died ten years ago.”
Food parcels
©InfoNomkhosi hasn’t had a job since she lost her hearing. It’s a struggle for her to get enough food to eat and the Red Cross food parcels make a big difference. Having a nutritious diet is particularly important for the success of antiretroviral therapy in treating HIV.
As Mertie helps Nomkhosi put away the food in her small kitchen, she says: “In 2005 I was very sick myself. At that time I didn’t have a clue about the Red Cross, because I was working everyday and I didn’t know what was happening in the community.
“Then my boss told me I must go and stay at home with my mother, to get that family love for the last time because he thought I was going to die. At that time a volunteer started visiting me, helping me every now and then, even bathing me when I couldn’t do it myself.
Helping others
“After three months I decided to tell my mother and my two children that I was HIV positive. Everyone cried and hugged me. The way I was sick, my mother was very scared for me, but here I am now, five years later and helping others!
“I think my positive attitude helped me as well as the support from the Red Cross volunteers and they continue to support me even now.
“After I got better in 2008, I have that feeling that I have to go out there and help others as the Red Cross people helped me, it is now my passion in life. As well as helping people in their homes, I work in the Red Cross food garden alongside other volunteers and people living with HIV. We share the food out between us and also sell some to make a bit of money.”
Read Skhumbuzo's story about being diagnosed with HIV