“I am Connie, I’m 27, the only child in the Setjeo family staying in Meyerton and HIV positive which I contracted seven years ago when I was 21,” she says with a grin on her face.
I have never seen such a face; so bright and eager to hear what our visit was all about even though it was arranged just three hours before.
Connie, an employee wellness specialist employed on a contract basis at Samancor in Meyerton, is determined that if you are infected or affected by the virus, life needs to be lived positively and never look back.
“Appreciate yourself so that others can follow suit,” says Connie. “Jesus Christ on his way to be crucified chose to die although he had all powers to free himself. We also have to make a choice,” she says.
But Connie felt differently when she was first diagnosed. She never received any pre- or post-counseling. She nearly committed suicide.
And that is why she welcomes Numsa’s recent workshop to train HIV/ Aids counsellors. Shabe Mofokeng, full-time health and safety representative at Connie’s company, who attended the workshop, concurs.
Charity Matsaneng, a Numsa Administrator in the Western Transvaal region, was at the same workshop. “Numsa is a step ahead on issues regarding HIV and Aids awareness,” she says.
“There are several companies in our area involved in Aids programmes. All administrators need to be trained because they counsel workers and their families almost every day,” Matsaneng says.
But fear of death related to HIV makes it hard to come to terms with the reality of the situation. I saw this during a recent Aids conference organized by the International Chemical, Energy and Mineworkers Federation (ICEM) to launch its programme of action and regional strategy to affiliated unions. When the chairperson, Senzi Zokwana, suggested that all delegates should voluntarily have a HIV test, the room immediately became cold. For one minute there was absolute silence, nobody responded.
This was what Connie meant when she recited this poem:
Whether rich or poor Either man or woman Or black or white Aids erodes decades of development gains It undermines global economies and threatens security But remain yourself and face it head-on.