20 years of HIV and still going strong

The government had a mountain to climb in  educating the public and treating the infected. Exactly 10 years later, Grace Raphuti of Khakhea found out she had contracted the virus and had to deal with stigma around Jwaneng where she lived. The 45-year-old  mother of one was a backing vocalist for one of the local bands around Jwaneng in the late 90’s and early 2000s. What prompted her to test was that she always felt tired and weak.

The results confirmed her HIV positive status with a CD4  count of 70. Raphuti had to buy anti-retroviral drugs from Jwaneng Mine hospital for six months to save her life as there by then there were endless queues at public hospitals. “It was tough. I had to buy four bottles of tablets at P450 each and that was too expensive for me”, she explained. Raphuti said she owed her life to Ngwaketse West support group which was her pillar of strength in time of need.