Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - October 9, 2005
Thabo Mkhize

Kraai, 37, from Mareetsane Village outside Mafikeng in North West, was one of more than 500 people who attended the launch of Khomanani Community Partnership in Ratlou in Madibogo Pan village on Wednesday.

"I'm here to stay with my virus. I'm not going anywhere. I want to tell people that Aids exists and it is killing our people," she said. "There is no better cure than accepting that you have the virus."

She said that since being diagnosed, she had abstained from sex.

"I don't have a boyfriend because I don't want to spread the virus or share it with anyone," she said.

Some men did not want to use condoms and she did not want to deal with that, she said.

As chairman of Rekopane Support Group, Kraai and her group of 15 volunteers conduct door-to-door visits teaching people about HIV/Aids and encouraging them to get tested.

"Every meeting and social event that I attend, I talk about HIV/Aids. Now I'm seen as a role model for many people, especially the youth. They are still afraid of getting tested but they do approach me to talk about the disease.

"Some ask how I dealt with being HIV-positive and I tell them that they just have to free their hearts and accept that they have the virus," she said.

Kraai, who uses both traditional medicine and antiretroviral drugs, said some people think once they test positive they will soon die. "I use myself and some of my colleagues to show that is not the truth," she said.

Kraai said she did not report the rape to police because she wanted to focus on moving on with her life and helping others instead of dwelling on the past.

She said she had a message to men who rape and infect women with HIV: "Stop killing the nation."

Fredah Mafoko, provincial liaison officer for Khomanani in North West, said it was important that people living with HIV/Aids like Kraai spoke about their status in their communities.

Mafoko hoped the launch of Khomanani could dispel some of the myths about HIV/Aids in rural areas.

She said that when some people start showing HIV/Aids symptoms they believe they are bewitched. Others believe condoms contain worms. Elderly people say discarded condoms kill their livestock.

Cyril Sadiki, Khomanani's national programme manager, said: "The involvement of chiefs and councillors in these programmes is very important. People listen to them and we are happy they are involved."

Some 220 food packages - containing samp, beans, soup, cooking oil, peanut butter and washing soap - were given to orphans and other needy children in Ratlou this week.

A 13-year-old who received a package said he had learnt that people get Aids from sexual intercourse and using contaminated syringes.

He said his mother had died seven years ago, leaving him and three siblings with their unemployed uncle.

051009
ST051006