Antiretrovirals bring new life and new hope

23 May 2008

© 2008 Alliance

Sarah Olgah is a widow from Kenya. She looks after her three children, her grandson and five orphaned nieces and nephews. Sarah was diagnosed with HIV in 1991. At that time, little did she imagine that 17 years later she would be receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, care and support, and training others to protect themselves against HIV.

Sarah tells her story in her own words. “I had no hair, I had rough skin, I was thin. People were stigmatising me, they couldn’t even talk to me nicely. So I went to the hospital to find out what was happening.

“They said, ‘you have a certain disease. We are sorry we don’t have medicine for this now. It is called AIDS’. They called it AIDS at that time. They gave me ointment for my skin, paracetamol and things like that,” recalled Sarah.

It wasn’t until Sarah was invited to join WOFAK (Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya) by a friend that she found other women living with HIV in a similar situation.

“I joined WOFAK in the early nineties and the stigma was big. We were just a few people, talking quietly because we didn’t want people to hear but we shared challenges.

“We would sit together, drink tea or milk. That’s how I became strong again. We started hearing that there was a drug and we were praying and crying for it.”

Sarah saw many people die from HIV-related illnesses. In 2000 she buried her husband but took courage from her faith in God. She was eventually successful in her hope to get antiretroviral treatment thanks to support by AIDSFonds to distribute antiretrovirals through WOFAK.

“ARVs have done a very good job on my body. I have skin back, my hair back. Before I was bedridden, I had boils all over and I was mentally disturbed. I was thin and the community stigmatised me.

“ARVs bring new life to us. Now we can sit and talk. So we are very grateful. My daughter who is nine is HIV positive and she is also taking Septrin. Nowadays we are alright and doing advocacy.”

Sarah has been trained by WOFAK to be a peer educator.

“I advocate for life: stigma reduction in workplaces, schools, churches, society at large. It can be your brother, your sister, even your parents. So we are telling people if somebody has the virus you have to take them to hospital to get treatment and they are still a normal person.”

Sarah doesn’t just receive antiretroviral treatment through WOFAK. She lives in one room and cares for nine children and WOFAK plays an important role in keeping the whole family.

“WOFAK is doing a great job. They even help my eldest daughter. They paid school fees. And now I’m thinking of taking her to college. We need food but we are working. We are not just sitting there. We are doing bread making, tailoring, crocheting. There are many challenges but we don’t want to keep on asking, we want to work.”

“Most of us (at WOFAK) are widows and single mothers. We are being empowered by knowing that when you want to have sex, use a condom correctly and consistently.

“In Kenya, maybe someone sees somebody fat and they think she is fat so she doesn’t have the virus. But we are telling them HIV has all shapes and sizes. If you are sexually active you protect your relation every time you have sex.”

WOFAK is empowering women, like Sarah, to look after themselves and those they care for.

“With me alone, without WOFAK, maybe I’m gone a long time ago. The group therapies, sharing, talking, that is why I am alive and I can smile back again. In WOFAK here we are being empowered.”

“I want to live long. My son is six years old. I want to live until my son gets married, see him growing and taking care of himself. I don’t want to go anywhere,” concludes Sarah.

About WOFAK

In 1993, a group of women, the majority of whom were HIV positive, founded WOFAK to support one another in the face of stigma, discrimination and rejection. WOFAK has around 3,000 members and has been an implementing partner of the Alliance since April 2007.

With support from AIDSFonds and the Alliance, WOFAK provides antiretroviral treatment at no cost for is clients. WOFAK also provides emotional support and follow up to ensure that those receiving treatment are able to adhere to their regimens.