'My mama no tell me say I get HIV before she die'
Some parents for Kenya dey cari di secret of dia HIV status go grave, and na dia children dey suffer am, as dem no go know.
Brian Omondi, wey dem born with HIV, start to dey take anti-retroviral (ARV) medicine from wen im dey di age of 10. But na wen im bin dey 14 years, afta im mama die, na im im bin sabi wetin di medicine bin dey for. E tok say im bin no know say e get di virus wen dem born am. E be 22 years old now and dey work as HIV activist. "I just remember say I bin dey sick well-well but di mata come worst. So my mama come take me go do di test. Dat na wia dem test me say I dey positive and start to dey give me ARV medicine, but my mama no ever tell me why I bin dey take di drugs." Na wen e start to dey live with im aunty afta im mama die, na im di neighbours come find out say e get di virus and na so im mates start to dey yab am. E bad sotay parents go de warn dia pikin say make dem no dey play with pipo wey get HIV. "I remember dis girl for school, meet me call me say 'You HIV pesin' dat tin pain me eh." Di majoritiy of pipo wey dem born with HIV dey live with am secretly, dem go hide dia medicine, and some of dem like oga Omondi go only take am for night. Winnie Orende, wey be 27, tok say she find out say she get HIV at di age of 12. She tok say, "two months afta my mama die, na so my doctor call my elder sister say e wan see me alone for hospital." Di doctor bin know say her mama die from Aids and bin wan test her for HIV. Di test bin dey positive. "At dat age, I bin dey confused. I bin neva knack before, I no be ashewo, so how I go get HIV? I bin tink why me? Because di worst tin be say I be di only pesin for my family for four wey get di virus. E bin really affect me." She no gree for wetin dem tell her until dem cari her go hospital plenti times. Her doctor bin tell di head teacher for her school so she go fit take break to do test for hospital, na so di news start to dey spread and dem start to yab am. "I bin feel bad. I start to dey tink say make I kill myself but come think am say my sister go suffer, na so I stop to tink am." Ms Orende dey currently work as volunteer for health centre wia she dey tok to HIV patients. Dr Griffins Mang'uro tok say e dey important for parents to tell dia pikin dia HIV status, wen dem dey di age of 9 to 11. E say if you hide am for di pikin e fit put dem at risk as dem no go dey take dia medicine well-well. Miother-to-child transmission dey common for Kenya but e don dey reduce as pregnant women dey test for HIV as soon as dem enta di clinic. If dem dey positive, dem go ask make dem born for di hospital. Dem go do all di tins to prevent di pikin to go get di disease like give dem zidovudine, wen dem dey four to six weeks old.