Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - December 30, 2007
Angela Hill
"Before coming here, I used to fear, I thought people would laugh at me," 38-year-old Murajib said, adding, "When I come here, I feel free."
She is just one of the 60 members in the Mengo Hospital Post-Test Club. The group is for those who have tested for HIV, most of the members are HIV-positive, but some people are negative and go there to give support and gain information.
Young, old, professionals, housewives, men and women all gather on one Saturday each month to listen to each other and exchange ideas. Members of the Counselling Department teach about nutrition, hygiene and the importance of antiretroviral drugs and medication adherence.
Each meeting starts with a hymn and a prayer, before the business of the day is discussed. Everybody is given the opportunity to speak.
Plans are made for trips to communities where club members introduce the Mengo Hospital counsellors and explain the importance of HIV testing.
"Testing is good. I was about to die. The same applies to my daughter," Murajib said. "Now if I do not tell you, you would not know I was sick."
Shortly after being tested, Murajib and her daughter began treatment and both are healthy today.
"Post-Test Club members sensitise and mobilise the people living in their areas," said Aline Mujawamariya, 40, a counsellor in the Mengo Counselling Department.
She says raising awareness is one of the most important aspects of the club. To this end, members are given basic counselling training, so they can approach their neighbours.
When a team of counsellors and clinicians enter new communities without previous introduction, residents are less likely to listen to what they have to say and are less likely to test for HIV.
However, Mujawamariya says when people see members of their own community who have been tested and are living positively, they do not fear testing.
"Many people come for testing after hearing my testimony," Ruth Mpamulungi, 36, said. Mpamulungi was given effective treatment for the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) and gave birth to two HIV- negative children.
Mpamulungi and Murajib have been involved with the Mengo Post-Test Club since its inception on July 29, 2006. Other post-test groups have been in place since the early 1990s.
David Bunjo, 24, a counsellor at Mengo, has helped to facilitate the club since it began.
"The major aim of the Post-Test Club is to fight stigma," he said.
In some cases, people who test positive would lose the support of their family and friends and turn to the club for encouragement.
Mujawamariya says the members restore hope in one another just by knowing each other.
"I love them, they are like my sisters and brothers. We are the same clan of HIV-positive people," said Mpamulungi.
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