From The Archives: Thandi Haruperi: Positively Woman

Written By: Thandi Haruperi—If it’s true that sometimes our paths are laid out for us to walk through then that must be true of me and my diagnosis. I really had no business getting an HIV/AIDS test. I was not ill, had no symptoms, and did not think I was "one of those people"; but the events that led to me taking my test are so baffling that even after almost seven years I still ask myself: what is this really about. This is my story.

I was born in Zimbabwe, but grew up in Zambia having lived there since I was two. At sixteen I met the man who was to become my husband. Twelve years later the relationship ended, leaving me with two young children. To support myself and my children I found work with an English expatriate who had just started an HIV/AIDS project in Zambia, but I ended up leaving after a few weeks for England. When things didn’t turn out as planned in England, I returned to Zambia where the job I once held had been given to someone else. My involvement with HIV/AIDS ended, or so I thought. A year after my return to Zambia, I went back to England at the invitation of my younger sister. I was told the usual stories about immigration restrictions and how difficult it is for foreigners (especially Africans) to get a decent job, harder still for someone like me who had left school and walked straight into marriage. Blissfully ignorant of all these limitations, I believed I would make it. With relentless determination I sought and found work and three years later, after establishing myself, my children joined me. Despite the difficult circumstances, including the fear in the back of my mind of working illegally and being exposed to the authorities, I steadily moved up the career ladder. It was nothing great but notable progress nonetheless.

Counting my blessings I found that on average things had turned out quite well for me and I felt a great need to give something back. The only thing I could afford to give was time so I decided to do charity work. Coincidentally, the first advertisement I responded to turned out to be an organization supporting those infected with HIV/AIDS. For the second time in about six years my path crossed HIV/AIDS. Barely knowledgeable on the subject, I joined the project as a befriender, but before my work could take off, the project folded due to funding problems and for the second time in my life my relationship with HIV/AIDS ended before it had even started.

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