The Pilot Mathambo Story
Originally uploaded by natavillage.
Pilot Mathambo has AIDS and has been working at Nata Primary school for the past four months bringing the Ring the Bell program to the students of Nata. Ring the Bell is a program sponsored by BONEPWA (the national association for People Living with AIDS). It is a way to bring HIV/AIDS education into the schools. Education on HIV/AIDS begins in the 1st grade. Pilot shared his story with me and then
agreed to share it with you. Here is his amazing story in his own words.
Pilot Mathambos story:
In 1998, I was just 18 years old when I had a reoccurring illness. After several attempts to cure my illness, my Doctor recommended I test for HIV. Back in those days, there was no pre or post test counseling. The doctor took my blood and I had to wait for 2 weeks to get the results. When the test results returned, I was told to see the social worker. She had no training in dealing with issues like this. She simply said, you can test negative or you can test positive and you are positive! I wanted to jump from a window. I went absolutely crazy and had to be hospitalized and tranquilized. When my family asked why I was in the hospital, I lied and told them I had a short illness. I kept my secret for almost three years. At that time, there was no treatment, no ARVs, nothing. By 2001, I had developed wasting syndrome. I went from 154 lbs eventually to 62 lbs. and had sores all over my body. It was getting harder to keep the secret. My sister suggested I test for HIV and I pretended I didnt know what she was talking about. It got so bad I finally had to tell my mother. She immediately thought I had been promiscuous and she blamed me for getting the illness. The discrimination that I faced started at home. I was forced to have my own plate, silverware and cup. No one would use any of my dishes or wash them. I was not allowed to bathe in the house. I had to bathe in a tub behind the pit latrine. I moved to Gaborone to live with my sister so I could go to the Coping Center that had recently opened for people with AIDS. I met other people like me there and I began to accept myself and take care of myself. I was lucky that I didnt get any opportunistic infection like TB, pneumonia or Karposi Sarcoma or I would have been dead. Wasting syndrome was my AIDS defining illness. The laboratory at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone started offering CD4 counts and my count was 1. At the Coping Center I met an American named John (not his real name) who worked for a local NGO. We became friends and he knew I was close to death. He took me to a pharmacy and bought me vitamins and then took me to a shop to buy fruits and vegetables. On his next trip to the States he brought me back ARVs. John provided me with ARVs for six months until they became available here in early 2002 at Princess Marina Hospital. The moment the ARVs became available in Botswana, I was there to sign up. Im actually the 13th person in the country to be registered in the ARV program. At the beginning, there were just a few of us at the ARV clinic. They had the clinic at the back of the hospital so everyone knew why you were there. But after some time, the place was packed with people. The doctors and nurses were so overworked and overwhelmed with all of the people. The ARVs only caused me side effects the first two weeks I took them. They no longer cause me any problems. After getting well, I trained at the Coping Center to become a community mobilizer and also received training as an HIV/AIDS counselor. I was hired in 2003 by BONEPWA as a field education officer. Today my CD4 count is over 800 and Im back to almost 150 lbs.. Ive changed for the better. Im looking at life at all perspectives and angles and thinking the impossible is now possible. Im quite strong and positive about life and I dont get shaken easily. Life is a journey that we cant predict. Its like a meandering river and all you have to do is find your way in. Ill keep on trying.
Your story really touched me, thanks so much for sharing!
Posted by: Lisa | January 19, 2007 at 08:17 PM