Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - January 18, 2009
Claire Keeton
Lekgoro, 49, was the fifth monthly winner in the Discovery Health Sunday Times competition, launched in August last year to encourage people to find out their HIV status.
For Lekgoro, an assistant boilermaker, the prize amounts to roughly two years of his monthly salary.
Lekgoro, who lives in the married quarters at Doornkop mine, west of Johannesburg, could not believe his luck.
"I thought that it was a joke, or that it was someone crooked," Lekgoro said of the phone call he received on Wednesday to tell him he was a winner.
Lekgoro said this year the whole family went for voluntary HIV testing, offered at the wellness day at the mine.
Lekgoro is the father of five children, aged six to 23, and he intends to use his windfall to fund their further education.
"I want to help my children to get a better education than I did," he said.
His eldest child, Catherine, 23, has already achieved a BSc (Hons) degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. She graduated last year and is looking for a laboratory job.
"He has always taken education seriously," said Catherine.
Lekgoro said his wife of 20 years, Constance, urged him to take an HIV test. "She does voluntary home-based care for people who are sick," he said.
"In my (peer) group I do not know of anyone with HIV. But I know there are people on the mine taking pills and I've seen people in the hospital."
------------------------------------------------
# You could win R100000 by taking an HIV test. Take the test, with counselling, and collect your result. Fill out this entry form and post it to PO Box 1742, Saxonwold 2132, or drop it in the Right to Know boxes at any Clicks or Dis-Chem pharmacy. You only have to enter once because your entry will stay in the draw for the duration of the competition. For details on the competition, or on where to get tested - and to find out what to do if you test positive - go to www.thetimes.co.za/specialreports
090118
ST090103
Copyright © 2009 - The Sunday Times. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Sunday Times Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .