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"It
doesn't bother me that I'm HIV+; I've accepted it." Interview
with Janet Mpalume
Upenyu
Makoni-Muchemwa, Kubatana.net
September 01, 2009
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Inzwa feature. Find out more
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Inside / Out with Janet Mpalume
View audio file details
 When
were you tested for HIV?
2007.
What
was your life like before you got tested?
I used to get sick. And I didn't know that if you got tested
they could treat you. It wasn't until I almost died that I
thought to myself that I should go to MSF and get tested. So I got
tested and was admitted to the MSF HIV treatment programme. In just
a week I had recovered my strength.
What
was your reaction when you got tested?
I made my peace with it. There was nothing I could do to change
it. When I went to get tested, I actually couldn't wait to
get my results because I wanted to get the treatment. I told her
there was no need to waste time counseling me, I was ok with it.
I had already made my peace with it.
Listen
What
are you doing to live positively?
The soccer club helps me maintain my positivity. It doesn't
bother me that I'm HIV positive, because I've accepted
it. I'm not ashamed.
What
are you doing to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
We eat things with a little cooking oil, and not too much sugar.
We use whole meal maize meal, not the refined Parlenta - they said
we shouldn't eat that. I eat things like Mhunga, Zviyo. We
use the whole meal maize meal when we can, but sometimes I end up
buying the refined meal.
You
have said that you are no longer interested in men. Can you tell
me what happened for you to make that decision?
The man I used to live with had many girlfriends. From there I stopped
being interested in men.
Was
he the man you were living with when you got tested?
Yes.
How
do you feel about adult HIV education?
I think it works very well. The way we are teaching people and the
way they see us as people who are living positively, they have decided
that they should also get tested. People used to look down on us,
but now they see us as people.
Listen
People living
with HIV are a bit better off because they know when to stop doing
things that are unhealthy for themselves. I've met some people
from Chitungwiza who said that they have trouble getting medicines.
Or they have problems with the doctors, where the doctor takes your
file, and they take you CD4 count, and they tell you that you are
now on ARVs, without the Doctor having seen you. So someone will
react to the pills, maybe they're on the wrong medications.
But here in Epworth we are ok.
Listen
What
made you join the ARV Swallows?
I had heard that they wanted a women's soccer team for people
living with HIV. I was told by Annafields Phiri, who had gone to
the meeting in town. She said to me 'China, lets look for
players'. Then we formed our team ARV Swallows, and we started
to play.
Who
named the team ARV Swallows?
There was an office in town where we were given the names. Its like
they knew what they were doing when they gave us that name though
because that medication is how we get the power to play soccer.
In the beginning
people would say you're wasting your time going to see sick
people play soccer but now they respect us. Both men and women.
Listen
In the
film you said that you died and came back. And you survived to fight
stigma. What happened?
I woke up and I went to get tested at MSF. After that I started
treatment and after a week I was fine. Where I live there are a
lot of people who are sick and I was the one who was now teaching
them that they should get tested and treated. If MSF can't
treat them, I tell them to go to Parirenyatwa or Harare Hospital
to get treatment. People say that that if you are HIV positive,
you've already died, but you haven't. If you steal the
police will still beat you, they don't care if you have HIV.
People can now see that getting tested is a good thing.
Listen
How
are you fighting the stigma of HIV?
They way I see it people who are positive should have road shows
to educate people about HIV. I think then the stigma will stop.
Things are getting better though. With this film that was made,
people are now seeing that you are still a person even if you are
positive.
Listen
You
said earlier that you are using soccer to fight the stigma of HIV,
do you think it's working?
They used to talk about us like those women with HIV, but come the
following week and they've forgotten that about us. They just
say women's soccer.
What
did you think of the film?
While I was watching it, I thought it would teach people about us.
The story that really came out was about positive women. The people
I live with are really interested in seeing it again.
Do you
have any advice?
For the young women who have found out that they are HIV positive,
if they have been counseled and they follow what the doctors say,
it is possible for them to have HIV negative babies. They shouldn't
be ashamed or afraid to get tested. They have to follow what the
doctors say and take the medications. Don't be ashamed to
get tested, if you are, you will end up killing yourself.
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