My Life
(The women speak)

My name is Cecilia, I got married fifteen years ago and was tested HIV positive in 1989. My husband is negative and our nine year old daughter is also negative. I can not remember for sure how I contracted the Virus. It took me time and effort to reveal my status to my husband. There were a number of issues surrounding my fear.
1. What will he do to me?
2. What if he sends me out of his house?
3. What will become of my young daughter?
4. What will my friends say or react towards me?
5. As a teacher, what will my employer do?
6. What will the pupils reactions be towards me?
In fact, I asked a lot of questions in my mind. Because I have faith in God and know Him as a living and working God, I told myself “ hide, be silent, try to forget but the Virus will still be there”. I accepted it as it was and committed myself to God and reveal it to my husband. He expressed anger and disappointment at first but thank God he got to his senses faster to accept me as His wife in all its forms. Since then, my husband has given me courage to keep living. On a salary of 29,000Frs CFA (US$52.7) per month, I wanted to do all that I could to protect this job. But because I must go to Limbe to get my drugs as well as do my tests, I was

forced to tell my employer of my status. Now I am excluded from sharing food to children in school. Though no open reason is given to me or any of my colleagues, I personally understand why.

Because I now master some of the signs and symptom of the pandemic, I now counsel most of my friends who show some of these symptoms. Most of them have got the courage to test and 18 of them are tested positive. Their major problem is access to treatment. From here in Ekondo Titi, you will need to wait for days to catch a car to Kumba before heading to Limbe to get drugs. At times when I am lucky to get a car, I will pay between 5000-8000Frs CFA (US$14.5) to get to Kumba and then 2000Frs CFA (US$3.60) to get to Limbe. This is however when the roads are good. Because access to the treatment centre is too costly and weary, most women here can not afford. Some who try to start the treatment usually stop it half way because of lack of money. This high cost is making it very difficult to convince women here to go for the test. They see no hope in knowing that one is HIV+. I have shared my drugs with most of those that I know. But because they cannot even afford theirs to refund by drugs, I am now reducing the quantity of my drugs that I borrow to other women. I now carry out counselling here in my home to those who come voluntarily knowing that I am also HIV+. We have now created an association called “ The Overcoming friends Association” (TOFA). If there is anything someone can do, I will call for intensification of sensitisation with focus on women. Increase women knowledge on Treatment. Some of these women do not even know that the AIDS treatment exist. I for one, is taking the drugs but I do not know what is happening in my body when I take the drugs. Some say the drugs have many side effects, but what do I do?.

The women also need to be supported to carry out income generating activities so that they can buy their drugs without depending on their husbands. The question “who will buy my drugs?” is very common among the women and girls I talk to. Another issue is national or local policies protecting the rights of PLWHA. Since no such laws exist, we do not know what to say or where to go. We do not even have the money to get a lawyer should our rights are abused. We will hope that your program will continue to help us address these issues. We need to be trained to defend our rights and to take control of our whole lives.
From Ndian Division

School Teacher infects 38 students
and 22 married women in Menji

Teacher testifies having had unprotected sex with 38 students and 22 house wives in Menji in Lebialem Division in Cameroon after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. According to him, he wanted to “give back to his community what he got from it”.
Just four days before the Mutapola Teams 1 and 2 were to go to Menji in Libialem Division in Cameroon, the team was reliably informed that one Mr. Linus has testified having had unprotected sex with 38 students from the school he was teaching and 22 married women after he was diagnosed to be HIV+. Mr Linus however decided to go in for treatment secretly without telling his own very wife. “ I wanted to pay back to my community what I acquired from it” our source quoted Mr. Linus. The Unprotected sex with these unfortunate thirty-eight students of his school was in exchange for marks and also the HIV Virus. For the twenty-two married women who came in for money, unfortunately they had to go back with some few thousands of Francs PLUS the HIV as a special gift.

When the team got to Menji on Friday night, they were told that Mr. Linus died a few days back.. All those interviewed around the village expressed extreme anger about this situation. “ May Satan welcome him with supper hell fire” said one Mr. Angoh.

Here we find another situation where the woman and the girl child are victims of all circumstances. The pursue for promotion for fear that failure to go to another class may only earn her new husband leads the children to practices that now put them at risk of infection. Women in search of livelihood get to source even the most risky ventures. All can be attributed to poverty, customs and vulnerability of the Female sex in the context of HIV/AIDS.

An urgent action is needed to redress the situation at Menji such as; Massive sensitisation and voluntary testing, promotion of access to treatment and care, promotion of income generating activities among women and a closer look at the customs of the land. Menji, like many other communities in Cameroon is largely polygamous. 22 women from 22 polygamous homes with an average of 2 women per family means three infected persons per family multiplied by 22. This gives a frightening figure of 66 family heads likely to be wiped out by AIDS. With an average of 10 children per home, we are likely to see over 220 children orphaned by AIDS in this locality if something is not done urgently.
From Libialem Division

 

I Mother and Father my children

 

My name is Esther, I live in Idenau in the SW Province of Cameroon. I am married and have six children. My husband was a fisherman but when business was not moving, he abandoned the work and is now a heavy drinker. He does nothing and simply relies on friends drinking Palm wine to keep his day busy. I smoke fish for livelihood. Since he abandoned fishing, he also abandoned all responsibility of the children. Now I pay school fee, feed and cloth the children, pay medical bills and still provide for my husband. He is so concerned about making more children but I am afraid that any more children will mean more suffering for me. This is why we do not agree and he goes around saying all bad things about me. He spends his time now running behind old women here and there. This is not my problem. I cannot stop him or say anything to him about this. I have suffered too many beatings from him about this issue and now I just watch him play his life. It is none of my Business.
There are many useless husbands like mine here in Idenau. Some of us the women depend solely on fish smoking of which fish availability is seasonal, most of the women turn to go into prostitution to sustain the lives of their families. Some of them even go to the extend of stopping their female children from schooling immediately they find that they have succeeded in their First School Leaving certificate Examination, so that they could be involved in fish smoking to boast the status of their families.

From Fako Division

My name is Echi and I live in Ossing village with my family. My family was a happy one before my husband went on retirement. After his retirement he felt very sick and suddenly went blind. During this period he could not talk or move until he passed away. Life became a threat to me since then. As a widow I am the only one to take care of our children. My in- laws did not want to see me and accused me of being the cause of their brother’s death. Seven months later I felt sick and I could not do anything. My entire family now depends on my elder sister and my children had to stop schooling. My main problem is the permanent swollen that is on my left leg. It seems to be eating me up gradually because I am gradually losing weight. I really do need proper care at this point but I lack the finance. My elder sister is doing everything to make ends meet but she is also do practically nothing that can generate income. If she could be assisted I am certain that our lives will come back to normal.

From Manyu Division

I am HIV+ but life continues
My Name is Samuel, I am 34 years old and live in Eyanchang Village in Manyu Division in the South West Province of Cameroon. I have been living with HIV since 2000. Before then, I had been having severe running stomach and later realised that I was falling ill after every two months. It was then that I took my health situation serious and had to go for an HIV/AIDS test. At that moment, I was not aware of HIV/AIDS and its threats to humanity.
I went in for the test and was then diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Fortunately, I happened to have had people of substance within my family who were aware of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and were ready to take total care of me. My health situation at that point scared most people in my village -- Eyanchang in Manyu Division who were and up till now are very ignorant of HIV/AIDS. Before my test, I lost my son from an illness, which is now linked to HIV/AIDS. When I made my test and informed my wife of it, she could not bear it an had to leave. She is now married to another man and they have a baby. I wish she could be courageous enough to go in for the test together with her new husband. . I felt much better after following my treatment in Yaounde. My health situation before and after receiving treatment at the moment served as both sensitisation and a life example to the fact that HIV/AIDS is real and a health problem. My health situation and my ability to speak out has encouraged some of my villagers to go in for the HIV/AIDS test. I feel bad each time I even talk to them to go for the test because most of them especially the women are very poor and cannot even afford for the cost of this test let alone the treatment. For the fact that some are now going in for this test, makes me happy to know that I am helping someone. From my education on HIV/AIDS, I now practice abstinence in my sexual life and strictly keep to my drugs.

From Manyu Division