ARV's in our lives[swiss].indd - Treatment Action Campaign

16
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) – how it begins
to cause illness
When asked to explain what HIV is, some will say Ubhubhane, Ugawulayo, or Amagama Amathathu.
With the exception of scientists and doctors, very few will say it is a germ. Many of us know it as the
mysterious illness that 'took away my mother, my child, my cousin who was paying for my school
fees’, as ‘an idliso (poison) from my jealous neighbour or the mysterious illness that is making me
thin and feel weak'. We all understand illness differently. However, one thing remains – because of
HIV, thousands of people are being lost to us.
We spoke earlier about different types of germs and illnesses they cause. But all this talk about germs
is foreign to some people, especially in rural areas. When we do education in the community and try
to explain germs, we hear many stories of how people culturally understand germs and disease.
One woman in a workshop we did in Ngqurha in Eastern Cape said:
‘I can hear all this talk about germs, but I tell you the reason my daughter is coughing is because her
uncle who is jealous of the fact that she went to get education in Fort Hare University sent his Impundulu
to kick her in the chest at night and that is why she is coughing blood, truly, that is why.’
After listening to her, we realised that she was explaining the symptoms of TB. She had taken her
daughter to traditional healers who were all trying to ward off the impundulu and do their best to
alleviate her symptoms. But the TB would not go away. We spoke to both the daughter and the
traditional healer who agreed that the young woman be taken to a clinic. The clinic diagnosed her
with TB and she took Rifafour for six months and got better.
Another young woman in a treatment literacy workshop in Matatiele in Eastern Cape said:
‘I hear all you people say. I know exactly what to do. I just need to slaughter a goat for my ancestors. My
Sangoma told me that the reason I have abdominal pain, burning when I urinate and irregular menstruation
is because I didn’t perform the ceremony to appease my ancestors. I will go back to my uncle’s kraal
next week and he will slaughter the goat and I will be better.’
In this case, we asked her Sangoma if she could convince the woman to go to the clinic so that
they can also see what might be wrong with her. The Sangoma explained that she believed in her
ancestors. But she was very understanding and said all she wants is for the woman to get better
and everything that can work must be tried. It turned out the woman had gonorrhea, a sexually
transmitted disease (STD) also called iDrop, which had not been treated for a long time. She got
treatment – ciprofloxacin – and got better.
When we do not understand things, we find our own ways to interpret what is going
on. This is true about disease and all other things which happen in communities.
There is nothing wrong with finding our own, culturally relevant ways to understand
the causes of illness. The problem is that sometimes, even though our own ways