AIDS activist declares war on HIV/AIDS
Lebogang Baingapi | Monday May 29, 2017 16:19
She said all these years she has managed to participate in international workshops on HIV/AIDS and she is more than willing to help Batswana with knowledge, skills and understanding the chronicles of the disease.
Raphuti was diagnosed with the virus when Botswana was not able to provide free anti-retroviral drugs to its people and she had to make ends meet to buy the tablets for survival. Her CD4 count was 70 and now it stands at 1,148.
She has conquered many afflictions ranging from stigma and discrimination. The mother of a 27-year-old man has been at the helm of facilitating health issues at her workplace in the Jwaneng Town Council, but she feels underutilised as she has not reached other corners of Botswana.
In the 80s stigma and discrimination were high and many did not want to associate with the infected. As a result, the government had to carry the burden of educating the public and treat the infected.
Raphuti found herself in a situation where she contracted the virus and had to deal with the stigma around Jwaneng where she lived. The 45-year-old was a backing vocalist in one of the local bands around Jwaneng in the late 90s. She started feeling tired and weak and she eventually tested HIV positive.
“It was tough, I had to buy four bottles of tablets and it was P450 each and that was too expensive for me,” she explained.
Raphuti says she was assisted by the Ngwaketse West Support Group, which was her strength at the time of need.
She said at the time when she was sick, she had to return to her home village of Khakhea, where there was stigma but thanks to another activist David Ngele who went to address her family. The public has also accepted her as part of their own. Ngele is one of the first people to go public with his status and he has been spreading the gospel of prevention and self-acceptance to the public. She said in 2003 she had to tell his only son that she was living with the virus and it was not an easy task. However with the help of her family, she was able to go public with her status during the World AIDS Day Commemoration in 2008.
“I have the confidence to tell the virus that I will control it and it will obey because I gave it accommodation in my body,” she declared.
Having gone public with her status does not hinder her to indulge in sexual relationships. She revealed her status to her partner and emphasised condom use to avoid transmission of the virus. She said she is now the preacher of the HIV/AIDS gospel and she shares the national vision of an HIV free generation.
She said it is important to adhere to good diet and exercise, adding that her CD4 count is now at 1,148 and the viral load is low. Raphuti said she does not blame anyone for being HIV positive.
“I don’t want to know where I got the virus, because that will not solve anything and I would rather delete any bad moments and embrace my status in order to live longer. This year I will be celebrating 21 years of living with HIV and I foresee a great future,” she said.
Though she works as a litter picker at the Jwaneng Town Council, her condition has led her to volunteer as a counsellor to those who are infected and she spreads the message of prevention. She said the government is spending a lot of money in fighting HIV/AIDS and she urged the public to practice preventive measures, go for testing and adhere to treatment when enrolled.
Her wish is to continue spreading the message through health talks and be a living testimony that AIDS does exist but it can be prevented and managed. She said given an opportunity, she will go around the country to preach prevention so that no one will be trapped in the same pit that she fell in.