Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - June 4, 2006
Henriette Geldenhuys

Three days later, Williams's domestic worker, too, was diagnosed with the virus.

"We read the story again and called Bev," said Williams.

She and her domestic worker, who asked not to named, were among about 20 people who attended the launch of a support group to help employers and their domestic workers deal with HIV.

Formed by White, a Benoni resident, the group, called Living Positively at Home, met at the Edenvale Methodist Church last Saturday.

Williams and her domestic worker, from Fourways, sat next to each other in the circle and held hands as the domestic worker struggled to speak through her tears.

She had gone home to Zimbabwe for the Easter break and returned to Joburg gravely ill. "I thought it was malaria. We went to the doctor. The doctor told me my test was positive. I was shocked," she said.

"But the most shocking thing was the response I got from [employers] Christine and Jeremy," she said before breaking down in Williams's arms.

She was too emotional to continue in front of the group but later, over tea, she told more.

"I thought I was losing my mind and my job. Even though Christine has always been a nice person, people in my situation lose their jobs. I mean, I'm looking after her kids, a one-year-old girl and three-year-old boy.

"I found out I was HIV-positive with her by my side. I love her," she said.

Williams said she understood her employee's initial fears but they were unfounded.

"She has been a second mother to my children. It's a reality in our lives. I have friends who have HIV. Now that we know, we can manage it. We have the right medication," she said.

"She's changed a lot already - she looked gaunt two weeks ago and now she's looking a lot healthier."

Another domestic worker at the meeting, a 44-year-old woman who also asked not to be named, discovered four weeks ago that she was HIV-positive. Shocked and afraid, she had not felt confident enough to attend the support group launch.

"I wanted to hide," she said.

But after being offered a lift and encouragement by her employer and the event's organisers, she had taken the plunge. Dressed in soft, pink, layered fabrics, she sat there transfixed, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she listened to other domestic workers' stories - including Thembi's.

"Ask your madam: 'Will you please listen to me? I have something to tell you. It's so hard for me. You know what? I need you now'," was Thembi's advice. "People thought I was crazy to tell my employers. But I had to tell them. I'm there every day all day. Before we leave this world, we mustn't be so quiet."

And after the meeting, the 44-year-old woman said she found hope in hearing stories so similar to her own.

"I also thought my employers would reject me. But they said: 'We love you and you can work here forever.'"

Yet another domestic worker, a 42-year-old from Fourways, contacted White after reading the Sunday Times and spent R20 taking three taxi trips to attend the launch.

She told the group that after being diagnosed with HIV in 2002, she had waited two years before telling her employer.

"I didn't tell anyone for a while because I was scared. But in 2004 I started to become really sick. I told my madam: 'Sit down. I want to talk to you. I'm really sick. I've got Aids,'" the woman said.

"She said, 'Oh, I thought you were going to tell me you're quitting.' She also said she was sad because it's incurable, but was happy that I told her. We cried together and she said: 'I will help you wherever I can.'"

The small group, who were strangers before the meeting, stood in a circle and held hands while Thembi and her HIV-positive daughter prayed aloud.

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