Young Woman Born with HIV Empowers Other HIV+ Women: “Be Vibrant and Never be Afraid to Speak Up”

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We have changed the name of the woman narrating her story to protect her privacy.

Mercy* discovered she was HIV-positive before she even became sexually active.

“Mine is a painful story of what l would like to call betrayal by my loved ones,” Mercy told The Weight She Carries.

Born in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, and now 27 years old, Mercy is currently studying human resources management. This is her story…

From childhood, l was on medication that l was required to take daily. The relatives l lived with would always emphasize that l should take the medication diligently. l did so without even knowing what it was for. All I knew was that it was important. They always told visitors, and even people in the community, that l was sick and on lifetime medication.

When l was 18, l decided to research what l was actually taking and that’s when l found out l was HIV-positive. l was broken and hurt. l felt betrayed by everyone because no one told me about my status. My parents died when l was very young and my relatives did not protect me. They chose to expose me publicly, to the extent that the community kids did not want to socialize with me.

At that time, l even contemplated ending my existence and stopped taking my medication. The more l heard about AIDS deaths the more l believed that l was going to die very soon. l self-stigmatized and blamed everyone for my predicament; my only question was, why me?


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After some time, l found out about support groups for young people with HIV, and that is when l realized that l was not alone. By joining one called Young Peoples Network under the National AIDS Council, l became empowered through their training workshops and began advocating through poetry and spoken word. l have since learned to accept my status and to love and care for myself despite my status. That is where the courage to enrol in college came about as well.

I also met a guy who swept me off my feet and promised me heaven on earth. He was HIV-negative but took post-exposure prophylaxis and my viral load was low. I fell pregnant and adhered to the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. It was after the birth of my child that the guy told me that l was a moving grave and did not want to live a life of taking drugs. That’s how the relationship ended. l was hurt but had to be strong for my child. It is just the two of us now.

As part of my advocacy work, l won a grant from the Love Positive Women initiative in February this year. The funds enabled us to hold a training on how to do makeup as a way of empowering young positive women. It turned out to be a beautiful day since it was in the month of love as well, which boosted our confidence. We left there knowing how to love ourselves. We have testimonies of women who have since started running their small makeup businesses through the training workshops, which gives me the courage to continue advocating.

As a young mother living with HIV, l feel that we are a vulnerable group that has been left out, especially on issues to do with antenatal care. We find that family and friends want to feed our babies with foods that are not recommended, and when we speak out, we are discriminated against. This was my experience, and l have taken it upon myself to step out and speak for those who cannot.

My encouragement to young, positive women and mothers is to take pride in who they are. Live a positive life, be vibrant, and never be scared to speak.

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