My new friend’s story splits my heart
Jun 06, 2010
I always meditated that I had the worst life built on facts I had no control over — the loss of a mother at the age of two, and an irresponsible father that put me under the care of a nasty stepmother that did not care enough until I was recovered by my maternal grandmother who gave me a better re
Elizabeth Clare Namyalo is a teenager. She was born with HIV. Every week, she will share her experience of living with HIV/AIDS.
I always meditated that I had the worst life built on facts I had no control over — the loss of a mother at the age of two, and an irresponsible father that put me under the care of a nasty stepmother that did not care enough until I was recovered by my maternal grandmother who gave me a better reason to live.
After so many claims of sickness, I tested HIV-positive at 11 years old. All this was such a heavy blow to me, but became lighter when I met a boy on my last visit to the clinic.
As I looked around the waiting room, I caught the eye of a visibly miserable boy. Although I am not the kind of person one would describe as social, something about this young man, Simon, (not real name) drove me to take a seat next to him and create a friendship.
After several minutes of just getting to know each other and re-assuring him that I was his friend, he disclosed the story of his life that touched the hearts of those within earshot.
Born to a poor family in one of the suburbs of Kampala, Simon lost his mother mysteriously at the age of five and his father followed suit a month-and-a-half later.
Simon was put under the care of his paternal aunt and was granted an opportunity to join one of the many Universal Primary Education schools for an education.
He started to fall sick constantly which made him miss school many times. At 12 years of age, he was diagnosed with HIV and immediately put on ARVs to supplement his health status.
At such a tender age, many of us take to trusting our friends in school and that is exactly what Simon did. As soon as he had made a remarkable recovery, he returned to school and told his ‘best friend’ about his situation.
In only a few days, everyone in school knew that he was living positively and decided to stigmatise him. Since the school was only a few yards from his home, even his neighbours got to know about his ordeal and likewise, closed off all connections with him.
Consequently, his relatives started to resent living with him because of the looks they got from people in the area! With time, he felt that was not a place for him anymore, so he left school and took to the streets. He now works as a ‘kaveera’ boy in Nakawa market.
Many of us have been brought up in very loving and appreciating societies despite our status. It is time we thanked God for our lives because there are people who are worse than us.
We are in it and cannot get out. Let us all learn to live positively and support each other with the help of those around us.
I always meditated that I had the worst life built on facts I had no control over — the loss of a mother at the age of two, and an irresponsible father that put me under the care of a nasty stepmother that did not care enough until I was recovered by my maternal grandmother who gave me a better reason to live.
After so many claims of sickness, I tested HIV-positive at 11 years old. All this was such a heavy blow to me, but became lighter when I met a boy on my last visit to the clinic.
As I looked around the waiting room, I caught the eye of a visibly miserable boy. Although I am not the kind of person one would describe as social, something about this young man, Simon, (not real name) drove me to take a seat next to him and create a friendship.
After several minutes of just getting to know each other and re-assuring him that I was his friend, he disclosed the story of his life that touched the hearts of those within earshot.
Born to a poor family in one of the suburbs of Kampala, Simon lost his mother mysteriously at the age of five and his father followed suit a month-and-a-half later.
Simon was put under the care of his paternal aunt and was granted an opportunity to join one of the many Universal Primary Education schools for an education.
He started to fall sick constantly which made him miss school many times. At 12 years of age, he was diagnosed with HIV and immediately put on ARVs to supplement his health status.
At such a tender age, many of us take to trusting our friends in school and that is exactly what Simon did. As soon as he had made a remarkable recovery, he returned to school and told his ‘best friend’ about his situation.
In only a few days, everyone in school knew that he was living positively and decided to stigmatise him. Since the school was only a few yards from his home, even his neighbours got to know about his ordeal and likewise, closed off all connections with him.
Consequently, his relatives started to resent living with him because of the looks they got from people in the area! With time, he felt that was not a place for him anymore, so he left school and took to the streets. He now works as a ‘kaveera’ boy in Nakawa market.
Many of us have been brought up in very loving and appreciating societies despite our status. It is time we thanked God for our lives because there are people who are worse than us.
We are in it and cannot get out. Let us all learn to live positively and support each other with the help of those around us.