Julia works in the Retail Division of the bank and was nominated for a Gold Award under the Barclays Africa Eagle Awards recognition scheme for taking the bold step of breaking the silence and sharing her HIV status with her colleagues. She took the initiative to brief staff in every Barclays’ branch around the country to help others address their fears surrounding stigmatisation.
“Many people suffer enormous stress about their HIV status because they believe they will be stigmatised,” said Julia.
“By breaking the silence about my own status, other staff have been able to identify with my situation and have spontaneously shared their status as well. Others have been encouraged to go for voluntary counselling and testing and have since committed to knowing their status,” she said.
Barclays Managing Director Thuli Johnson said Julia’s bravery was an outstanding example of selflessness and taking responsibility that goes far beyond the call of duty.
“It is often said that one small action by an individual can have enormous impact on the larger society. Julia’s commitment to breaking down the barriers of stigmatisation surrounding HIV is having a beneficial impact on the rest of the staff at Barclays,” Mr Johnson said.
“Barclays set up an HIV/AIDS treatment programme for staff and their dependents in 2002. But for it to be successful, people must know their HIV status. I believe Julia’s move to share her status with her colleagues will help others to put aside their fears and learn their status so they can get on with the business of living productive and happy lives, whether or not they test HIV positive,” Johnson noted.
Julia is now off to the Barclays Africa Star of Africa awards ceremony to be held at The Palace, Sun City, during the Core Banking Conference. The annual award scheme aims to provide a consistent approach to recognising the achievements of exceptional performers and improvers across Africa.
They recognise achievements that are above and beyond what is considered to be part of the team member’s day-to-day job responsibilities. The award winners are selected quarterly from peer nominations. The awards are grouped into three levels, gold, silver and bronze.
During 2003, Barclays Botswana had eight silver award nominees and five in the gold category. The other Gold Award recipients were Sesha Lemogang, Onalenna Balang, Tebogo Ntebogang, and Margaret Kabelo. The Silver Award winners were Patricia Baitsile, Ngwako Dikole, Kangangwane Mokoka, Polite Rankgomo, Kelebonye Tumelo, Gaone Phuduhudu, and Tshireletso Kgosiemang. They received their cash and other prizes at the annual Eagle Awards Dinner.
