Young HIV POSITIVE mother homeless

A 21-year-old HIV-positive mother, Babalwa Jack and her two-year-old son are homeless after she left home two weeks ago because her bishop step father taunted her after finding out about her HIV status.

“He refused to eat the food I had prepared or touch anything that belongs to me, because he said I am filthy. My life became unbearable, because I felt like a stranger in my own home. We fought a lot and it was starting to affect my child, because he would cry every time my step-father shouted at me.”

After finding out about her HIV status three years ago, Jack told an older woman at her church whom she trusted. But her mother found out and took her to the clinic to confirm if it was true. She then told Jack’s step father. This marked the beginning of her misery, as her step-father started treating her differently. Jack persevered for a few years, but the situation became worse.

Her sad experience with her parents did not start when they learned of her status. At 17, she was raped by her brother. She was afraid to tell and decided to keep it a secret. But her grade eight teacher noticed a change in her behaviour.
Her teacher asked her what was wrong, Sue took a while before opening up about her rape ordeal.

“My teacher reported this to a social worker and the police, after which brother was arrested. However, my mother and step-father raised enough money to bail him out. But he was found guilty and jailed for six months before coming out,” Jack told The Weekly.

Fortunately for her, the brother moved to Eastern Cape. Jack did not go back to school since then. She fell pregnant when she was about 19 years old. The blood test she took in her fifth month of pregnancy revealed that she was HIV-positive.

Her boyfriend, the father of her two-year-old son, was later stabbed to death in a fight.

“I need a stable home where I can feel comfortable and raise my child. I do not have a job. My only income is the child grant I receive every month for my son. Sometimes I ask myself why my life turned out this way, why me? I am desperately in need of help,” pleaded Jack.

Jack’s step sister, who chose to remain anonymous, told The Weekly that Jack led a loose and promiscuous life. To add salt to a wound, she said Jack might not be telling the whole truth about her relationship with her father.

“He is a very strict person who does not like wayward children. I just feel like Babalwa was not open enough to my parents. This is not about her HIV status, but her unruliness.”

To help Jack deal with her challenges, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) invited her to a support group for people living with HIV and AIDS. Jack has been accommodated at a house in Phase 3 where this group conducts its sessions.

TAC in the Free State has raised concern over incidents where people with HIV are disowned by their families, especially religious ones.

The TAC spokesperson in the province, Sello Mkhaliphi, took a swipe at Jack’s father and said there is a need to encourage religious leaders to be tolerant about HIV.

“It is disturbing that in this era where HIV is talked about so much, people continue to be treated like this, especially by church people. We need churches to also spread the message about HIV and avoid a situation where a church is divided because of this disease.”

Mkhaliphi said it was about time churches realised that there is high rate of teenage pregnancy. This means that young people continue to engage in sex without protection from sexual transmitted diseases.

“We need to partner to fight this challenge and churches are no exceptions. I mean if you read your Bible, there is a mention of an increase of incurable diseases and HIV is one of those diseases. Instead of avoiding the subject, why not talk about it instead of judging people who have it.”

TAC has written a letter to Premier Ace Magashule and the social development MEC, Sisi Ntombela, to intervene in Jack’s situation.

“We have asked for the intervention of the premier and the MEC in addressing the issue of this pandemic. We have also noted that there are priests who cash in on people living with HIV by promising to heal them, when they know very well that there is no cure for it. We as a social movement need to come out strongly in the fight against such churches.”