Christopher, Tanzania: No place or chance to speak out

In 2001, Christopher Mwambane, then 57, was sick with his second bout of tuberculosis. He turned to his eldest sister, Anita, for help. Anita’s son was a medical doctor. Christopher had a hunch about the source of his tuberculosis. A year earlier, his beloved wife Mary died from what doctors called “unknown causes”. But Christopher suspected AIDS killed Mary. And now he was worried that the disease had infected him.

While at Anita’s home, Christopher asked his nephew to test him for HIV. The result was positive.

When Christopher broke the news to his sister, she reached for a plastic comb and ran it through his hair. Christopher took it as an act of kindness. He thanked her. But, to his surprise, Anita quickly thrust the comb into his hands. “Put it in your bag right away”, she ordered. “It is yours now”. Christopher realised that the comb was not meant as a gift. Anita wanted to see if Christopher’s hair fell out – a suggestive sign of HIV in her eyes. She was scared that he might spread the infection through the comb.

“I wanted to speak my mind straight away, but it was too painful”, Christopher recalls. From that moment, his brothers and sisters turned their backs on him. Christopher was too scared to tell anyone, even his seven children, that he was HIV positive.

Three years later, Christopher recounted the story of the comb to a roomful of people. They nodded in recognition. It was a meeting of the Kimara Peer Educators’ anti stigma workshop (in 2004). Many in the room had similar stories. They told of relatives who smashed teacups they had drunk from or burned bed-sheets they had slept on – in fear of contracting HIV.

“I could feel how many more people in the community had stories that were deep in them. But they had no place or chance to speak out”, Christopher explained.

Soon, Christopher began his own stigma reduction outreach work in Mbezi, 25 kilometres outside the capital of Dar es Salaam. Today, he leads a support group of 32 people with HIV. As a group, they work to correct misconceptions and myths around HIV and AIDS. Christopher also encourages local leaders to invite group members to community meetings to talk about discrimination.

Christopher believes the best way to change people’s minds is by being open about his infection. “When I say I am HIV positive, the community understands”, he said. “They realise that I am normal”.

Christopher cautioned that people do not change their prejudices overnight. "Patience and tolerance was needed", he said, "as well as repeated messages and education". And Christopher has used those lessons in his own life, too. After three painful years of keeping his HIV status secret, he recently found the courage to tell his children.