Rutendo Amanda Munedzimwe - Zimbabwe
“Now I wear my status on my sleeve like a queen wears her crown”
I hold the old t-shirt in my hand. Stroking it softly as if it were a newborn baby, I press it to my chest. I feel my emotions rising to the fore as I remember the day it all began. The day I tested positive.
It was a horrific nightmare. How could this happen to me. Wasn’t HIV a sexually transmitted disease? Then how on earth had I got infected when I wasn’t yet sexually active? Was it a case of immaculate transmission? No, this could not be happening to me.
Then I joined a support group where they gave us these t-shirts, and I wore mine with pride.
People said I’m dying, but who isn't. That I’m weak, but I believe I’m strong for I’m informed and thus empowered.
HIV is not a curse. It’s just a case of accepting the grace. Yes, it is a grace, for now it’s just a case of one pill a day and all is at peace.
Now I wear my status on my sleeve like a queen wears her crown. Yes, I’m HIV positive! NdoZvandiri – this is me.