African Woman and Child Feature Service

Sarah Omolo is 43 years old and has lived with HIV/Aids for over 12 years.  She equates the free antiretroviral drugs to water as far as being alive is concerned. She is also a member of the Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (Wofak). She spoke to Susan Mwangi about her experiences.

“I started taking ARVs in 2001 and the difference in my life has been enormous. Before I started taking the ARVs I was constantly sick and weak from opportunistic infections such as diarrhea and stomach pains. My skin was terrible and I had ugly marks all over.

Before the free ARVs were introduced, I used the information I had learned about positive living from the Mbagathi District Hospital in Nairobi. From that I combined knowledge of planning healthy meals as well as how to avoid re-infections.

I joined WOFAK in 1998 and started by taking Septrin to stave off opportunistic infections. The ARVS were expensive at the time and I could not afford them.

The situation changed when ARVs drugs were heavily subsidized and even given out for free. Wofak started giving ARVs to its members and the change in my body and wellbeing was remarkable.

I no longer suffered from the opportunistic infections other than the occasional cold and flu. My CD4 count rose from 150 to 1,577.

It was a miracle. My skin changed. The spots left by various skin infections faded away and my body weight increased. I now look as healthy as any other person.

One of my greatest moments since I started taking ARVs was in 2001 when I got pregnant and delivered a baby boy who is HIV negative. The ARVs helped prevent the mother to child infection. The boy is now in primary class three.

Life has been different since I started taking ARVs. In fact, I have been able to adopt my late brother’s four children and look after them from the proceeds of my business due to my improved health.

I have learned to be constant in adhering to my medication schedule. I am not even ashamed to remove my medication in front of people when the clock ticks towards my medicine time. If I am in a matatu or a meeting, I get hold of my bag and remove the many bottles and pills that I have to take. The benefits of the ARVs to me are greater than feeling embarrassed so I don’t pay attention when people start looking at me strangely or whispering about me.

One must stick to the prescription to get well and stay well. I used to forget the tedious medicine timetable and even had to use my phone alarm to alert me so that I didn’t mess the schedule.

Wofak gave me a kshs 3000 start-up cash for my own business. This was after a training session for women living with HIV between 2002 and 2003 to enable them become financially stable. Initially I started selling omena fish then I diversified into soap making and now I am doing bead work. The kind of business changes with what is making profits. At the moment, Wofak has 342 members who include men, women and children.

Wofak has also lifted a burden from me by educating some of my children. My first born daughter who is 20 years old went through high school with the support of Wofak. Some of my children and those I have adopted have also benefited from the free lunch programme offered between Monday and Wednesday at Wofak. Those of us who are living with HIV also get free medication from them.

I feel that Wofak have the shared my burdens with me to put food on the table and to provide the medication I need. It has made my life so much easier. Although I do not make a lot of money, I am happy when I see my children happy.

There have been sad days for me as well. One day I realized that my son came home from school much later than the others.  When I asked what was happening he told me he stays behind to read but I was not convinced. One day I decided to follow him quietly and I found out he went to the Dandora garbage site to collect and sell garbage like a chokora (street boy). When I confronted him, he said that he had been doing it so that he could afford money to buy food in school during the break so that he could take his medication on a full stomach.

The recent talks about cutting down on funding for HIV and Aids drugs have come as a shock to me. The government of Kenya should always make sure there are sufficient funds to buy medication for ordinary people who would not otherwise afford to be on treatment.  Funding for Malaria and Tuberculosis (TB) should also be consistent these are the two highest causes of death for people living with Aids. The government cannot afford to mess with funds for these three diseases.

However, everyday comes with its blessings and advances in the treatment of HIV and Aids. I am now eager to see if there will indeed be a cure for HIV and Aids. I recently read in the papers of the man who was accidentally cured off Aids when his doctor was treating him for cancer.   I was greatly encouraged.