Mai is a 39-year-old mother living with HIV. Until recently, she’s also been living with the stigma of the condition.
Mai is a teacher and also a deacon at her church in Zimbabwe. But despite these positions of authority and respect in the community, she felt scared.
Scared and wary of people knowing that she was living with HIV.
But with the help of her pastor, Mai is now living with HIV in an open way, free from the fear of stigma.
The pastor, with support from a Tearfund partner, helped her access a drug called Cotrimoxazole, which is a broad-based antibiotic given to people living with HIV before they are given anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).
That practical assistance has given Mai great peace of mind and her pastor’s understanding and compassion have done much to change her outlook.
Mai feels revealing her condition has freed her from the fear of prejudice, as people now understand why she behaves in certain ways.
Holistic
Mai said, `People may fail to understand you as long as you do not disclose but if you do as I did, they start to accept you.’
Helping pastors and churches to work with those living with HIV and to be leading agencies for change is a key part of Tearfund’s work in Zimbabwe.
One of our partners runs training where hundreds of churches and volunteers are taught to understand basic holistic care.
This care may take the form of home visits, help with livelihood support, enabling access to drugs, or running children’s clubs.
The work done through the church in Zimbabwe is only possible with the support of the church globally through prayer and giving.
And that work will be needed for a long time to come as the impact of HIV on lives remains considerable, with prevalence of the disease exceeding 15 per cent of the adult population, while just eight per cent of infected men and women have access to ARVs.
• Please pray for work in overcoming the stigma of HIV and for people to be freed from fear.
• Pray for the work of our partners in this field and for wisdom as they train churches and leaders.
• Pray for a decline in the epidemic.