Rachel's story
Born in 1974 to a single parent, I grew up with my grandmother in Kathonzweni division of Makueni district. I saw very little of my mother. I married a man I was working with in a hotel in 1997. We had a baby girl. Life could never have been better. Unfortunately, when I was heavy with our second born, the cruel hands of death took away my love in a tragic road accident. This spelt doom. His parents chased me away saying I could never have been their son’s legal wife because he had never taken me home to them nor paid the customary dowry.
I moved back to my grandmother’s house but the situation was unbearable. I sought out my mother and then my aunt but they both chased me away. With nowhere to go, I found a man who not only offered me a job but also a hand in ‘a come we stay’ marriage. With two children to take care of, the offer was too good to be true. I grabbed it but one month down the line, I became sick, I was pregnant with my third born. Some people said I was bewitched. I was even prescribed a dose of saliva from an old lady in the village. This did not work.
One day, I prayed to God and asked him to heal me. Two days later, a VCT mobile outreach clinic came to a village near my place. I tested HIV positive. They referred me to Makueni district hospital where I presented with diarrhoea, vomiting and skin conditions. I was put on Septrin and multivitamins. I also joined a support group within the village but it was not strong then. I was initiated on ARVs in February 2005 but I stopped taking them. I found the drugs too big and strong for my body and I would vomit every time I took them. The hospital was also too far and the transport fare a problem. My baby passed away on the 13th September 2005. I became so weak and lost so much weight I stopped going to the clinic.
It was not until AMREF's Zingatia Maisha project talked about the importance of adhering properly to treatment that I felt it was important to go back to the clinic. I had adherence counselling and restarted ARVs in March 2007. My weight was 35Kgs. Since then, I have adhered well to the drugs. I take them at 9am and 9pm daily. My health has also improved gradually and I currently weigh 43kgs. My children have all tested negative. I have great hope to live long and I believe I will live to see my grandchildren.
Going to the HIV/AIDS group supported by Zingatia Maisha, helped me to be able to share my experiences freely with others in the same situation. I no longer feel stigmatised. I have started up a smaller support group with other people living with HIV/AIDS and we are doing very well. We talk about issues affecting us and we have really gained from the sharing and support from the original group.
Nowadays I am strong; I do a lot of things on my own. We started income generating activities at an individual level in the group. I took to planting nursery trees. I sold them at a small fee and now I am selling fruits and vegetables on a small scale.