Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - December 4, 2005
Subashni Naidoo

But it was Naidoo's cons- tant prayer that "gave my baby the strength to pull through all these years".

Wearing a thin cotton nightdress, Naidoo, 32, from Bayview, Chatsworth, spoke to the Sunday Times Extra this week of her Aids nightmare.

"My baby was in and out of hospital with chest infections and double pneumonia.

"My heart is sore because at least I had a chance to experience life - what about my children?"

Now, she says that she regrets having trusted the man of her dreams, from whom she contracted the virus.

"He did not tell me he had Aids.

"It was only after my second baby was born ill did I discover that we were also infected.

"If I had known earlier, my babies would not be suffering today," said Naidoo, who has been living with the virus for seven years.

Naidoo, who lives in a home without water and electricity and depends on goodwill from neighbours and family, says all she wishes for now is that her child- ren receive a proper education.

She is among several other families in the Indian community who are fighting Aids.

A recent report by the South African Department of Health recorded that the highest HIV rates were in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga.

Based on its sample of more than 16000 women attending antenatal clinics across all nine provinces, the South African Department of Health Study estimated that 29.5% of pregnant women are living with HIV.

Statistics supplied by the Chatsworth Child and Family Welfare Society revealed that the number of people infected with HIV and Aids in Chatsworth had increased from 876 last year to 2034 this year.

The number of infected children rose from 223 to 528.

The spokesman for Ubuntu HIV Community Care and Development, Brandon Pillay, said the biggest problem in Bayview was poverty.

"Most people who are terminally ill or battling to live with Aids are too poor to receive the necessary medical attention," said Pillay.

He said there had been no cases disclosed two years ago but within a six month period, 10 families and 25 individuals broke their silence.

A 18-year-old HIV-positive mother recently disappeared from the community after her two-year-old child died, said Pillay

"She could not bear to face the community. We have no trace of her and it worries us because she could now be in her last stages," he said.

Family physician and counsellor of HIV patients in Chatsworth, Dr Krish Nair, said people infected with the virus in the Indian community tend to be much older than those in other ethnic groups.

"The average age of patients I treat and counsel is 40 and predominantly male who, in turn, infects his wife and family.

"This is mainly a result of promiscuity because it is evident that the number of prostitutes servicing Chats- worth is on the increase," said Nair.

He said a percentage of infected patients were also truck drivers who are more vulnerable to the disease because they travel.

Another factor, said Nair, was the high incidence of child rape by parents or relatives who knew that they were HIV-positive and believed that sex with a virgin could cure them.

In a drive to remove the social stigma attached to HIV and Aids, the popular Durban radio station Lotus FM had five Prime Time DJs tested live on air this week .

"The HIV pandemic is everyone's concern," said Lotus FM's station manager Shanil Singh.

"With more than 60% of the world's population infected with the HIV virus living in Africa, it clearly becomes a challenge for us all.

"Our announcers represent a cross-section of our audience and it is their personal commitment to encourage responsible lifestyles which are much needed today," said Singh.

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