-The importance of support groups in the war against HIV/AIDs
By Piason Maringwa
We all live one day a day and the most important day of our lives is today because that’s the day we have as tomorrow may never come and yesterday is gone never to come again.
The knowledge that one is not alone in his/her suffering is very comforting and encouraging and makes very difficult situations easy to handle .If death was only meant for a certain group of people that group would be the most miserable group ever and would never find time to smile or make merry but the knowledge that all of us will one day die makes death easy to imagine and people even find time to joke about death as if it was something not frightening at all .
The stigma and discrimination that came with being HIV+ still haunts many people today nearly 40 years after the first case of HIV was recorded.
I had a very interesting time when I was given time to speak about HIV at our recent Church Camp Meeting. I started by deliberately asking all congregants suffering from Diabetes and BP and other acceptable chronic conditions to put their hands up and ooh boy did I see so many hands up especially from the women side, but when I asked those suffering from HIV to do the same no hand came up and this to me is a clear indication that we still have a long way to go in the war against HIV.
I think there are more people living with HIV than those with diabetes, BP or other such diseases wherever people are gathered. In the village where I live more than three quarters of adults are HIV+.
When someone knows that he or she’s not alone in any situation they feel confident and can easily cope with very difficult situations but if one feels lonely the situation becomes very hopeless.
I have felt so much alone each time I disclosed my status especially during the early 2000s with some people saying AIDS had made me mad. I had become the mad man of Jimhu village under Chief Mkoka.
I remember how I was booed, mocked and labeled stark raving mad in 2004 after imploring mourners at my cousin’s funeral wake to go and get tested for HIV. My cousin had died of AIDS as evidenced by his medical cards but nobody wanted to hear about it as most people thought or wanted to believe that he had been bewitched because he had been doing very well in life .
Our first support group was formed in early 2007 after I had made my first bold move to disclose my HIV+ status to a large gathering at Mkoka BC in the presence of Kana Hospital Outreach team led by Sr Gorejena. After my testimony I looked like a fool as everyone present looked disdainfully at me. Nobody made a comment except Sister Gorejena who commended me for my bravery and courage .Sister Gorejena encouraged us to form a Support Group where we would meet once a week to discuss on issues to do with HIV. She went on to appoint me the chairperson of the group which I thought was a futile exercise as nobody would join that doomed group.
Soon after my testimony I left the shops to go to my home feeling very miserable and humiliated as I felt I had made a mess of myself to all and sundry by disclosing my positive status to these people.
I have learnt that people are happy to live in a false world where they want to live in a false sense of security when in reality they are victims. This false life has cost many people their lives.
Soon I heard someone calling me from behind and when I looked back I saw someone I knew very little about running to catch up with me. When he got to me he shook my hand very hard and congratulated me for the brave move I had made in disclosing my HIV+ status. He went on to tell me that he was also HIV+ and had lost his wife and three children to AIDs and was a new settler in our area hence we did not know each other very much but he would join my new Support Group and that’s how Mkoka Support Group came into existence.
This gentleman had turned my otherwise miserable day into a happy one after all. Tawanda Andaki was the gentleman’s name and we became very close mates as we waged war on HIV/AIDs.
The following Thursday I went to Mukoka Clinic our usual meeting place with Kana Hospital outreach team though today we were going to meet as members of Mukoka Support Group which had very few takers at first and there was only myself and Andaki the other gentleman who had disclosed his HIV+ status to me the previous week. The two of us discussed on issues relating to our HIV and we agreed to soldier on despite the discouraging environment.
The following week we were joined by a few more other people and soon our group had grown up to more than ten members and this was very encouraging indeed.
When I look back I can say Mukoka Support Group has achieved more in the fight against HIV/AIDs and evidence is there for all to see. The group has brought back to life many people who had lost hope of ever enjoying good health again.
Today many HIV+ people are not ashamed of taking their ART tablets in public. Many single and widowed individuals have now found life partners through our Same Status initiative which encourages marriage and relationships to thrive among people of the same status to avoid humiliation and disharmony but this is not to say we do not encourage discordant partnerships but these should be done from an informed choice.
I have formed many other support groups wherever I went. In 2011 when I went to teach at Vatanga High near Manoti I formed many support groups there and at one time there were 33 support groups spanning a radius of more than 20km.
In 2013 during radio programs with ZBC National FM I formed another support group called HIV Same Status which still exists today and has helped many people living with HIV get marriage partners and also brought hope to many who had lost it.
Support groups are the way to go and achieve the National Vision of ending HIV/AIDs by 2030.
Piason Maringwa is a teacher at Batanai High School near Manoti in Gokwe South District.
He has been living with HIV for more than 30 years and has been sharing his story since 2004.
He can be contacted on whatsapp and call 0774322043.
