14 Sep 2020

Living with HIV/AIDS should not hinder one from fulfilling their dreams.

It does, however, require one to have patience and determination to continue with life the usual way.

Ms Neo Simon, 41, who has been living with HIV for 13 years, said in an interview that it was crucial not to neglect the fact that there were people already infected and affected by HIVAIDS. They needed help and assurance that their lives were not a burden.

“It’s not easy to be diagnosed with HIV. You are always in a battle with your emotions and you feel like it is the end of your life,” she said urging for the nation to be more supportive and accepting.

For four years now, Ms Simon has been giving hope and courage to single mothers living with HIV even though it took her years to look forward to a better tomorrow.

“I wanted to become an HIV advocate because I had no one to rely on or speak to when I was diagnosed with the virus. So, I felt the need to be that go to person for people living with HIV,” stated Ms Simon.

Having been diagnosed with HIV in 2007 when pregnant with her first child, Ms Simon said she went separate ways with the man who fathered her child.

“It never worked out between me and the baby daddy because we constantly had issues about my status. Although we made peace, we decided to part ways,” she said.

Being a single parent and living with HIV/AIDS was not easy for Ms Simon who said it was hard for family and friends to understand what she was going through and it took her five years to open up to them about her status.

She said she was stigmatised and looked down upon by those who feared she would infect them.

It was because of such people that she decided to inform herself more about the virus and become an activist.

Ms Simon said the perception that having multiple concurrent sexual partners was the only way people got infected with HIV could not be further from the truth because there were many other ways such could happen.

In 2017, she publicly shared her status and created an organisation and Facebook page titled, Single Mothers Living with HIV that boasts about 9 000 followers.

The intention was to provide support and allow individuals to openly talk about their experiences and challenges.

The Facebook page rests on the slogan: If I Can, You Can Too, to give hope to single mothers living with HIV and for them to know that they could achieve their dreams and be loved.

The Sebina native, who is now in a happy relationship and has two children, said it was possible for other women, although she had challenges to overcome.

She said living with HIV influenced her love life a lot.

Previously, she said, when she met a man and disclosed her HIV status to them, they would respond that they could not date an HIV positive person or would just disappear into thin air.

“You need a thick skin to continue to be an advocate. After getting rejected over and over, I used to dread opening up about my status and I felt that because I was HIV positive I did not need to be loved. There were times when a man would approach me and tell me that he loves me but would only move forward love if I stopped being an advocate and tell the world about my status,” she said.

But because she believed what she was going through was for a reason, she chose to wait for someone who would embrace her for what she was because being an advocate was her passion.

She also said through her page and sharing her life experiences, she had observed people resurrecting and reviving their dreams and it was apparent that men were finally learning about HIV and embracing women living with the virus.

Ms Simon applauded Botswana for being one of the first countries to freely give anti-retro viral drugs (ARVs) to patients.

She, however, said even with government’s support, discrimination continued and some were still afraid to disclose their status.

According to the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAPHA), there were more than 385 000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana with only less than 20 activists a who revealed their HIV status.

“With a population of about 2.1 million, this proves that people are afraid of discrimination,” Ms Simon said, adding that it was painful to be discriminated against because such affected one’s mental health.

Ms Simon said government should do more to prevent stigmatisation by engaging and providing activists with more funding to address challenges presented by the pandemic.

She also urged those living with HIV to be open with their doctors and service providers so that they could be properly assisted.

ends