This week Siyayinqoba Beat It! examines how young people who are HIV positive cope through their teen years. Nowadays children who are born with HIV, or who contract the virus at a young age, are able to live long, productive lives because of improved treatments. By the time many of these youngsters reach their teens they understand the nature of their illness and the implications of living an HIV positive life. But this means they require the right care and support to ensure their physical, mental and social development. Our CJs meet two young girls at either end of the teen spectrum – Thulisile, 13, and Veronique, 19, as well as their guardians – to discuss negotiating this difficult stage of life.
Thirteen year old Thulisile lives with her guardian in Gugulethu near Cape Town. She found out she was HIV positive when she was five years old and began taking ARVs. Her guardian had to explain carefully to Thulisile that it was not her fault and that she was here to support her. At times Thulisile has avoided taking her treatment because she was tired of it, but now she understands that her life depends on taking her medication regularly. Being part of a support group has helped: “We can be open about our HIV status and I realised that I am not the only child out there who is living with HIV.”
As the girls reach an age where they start to get curious about boyfriends and sex and experience peer pressure, the support group is a place where young teenage girls can learn about the implications of living with HIV and express their frustrations. The staff teach them how to respond to difficult situations without having to disclose their status – so that they can do this gradually in their own time and manner. With the support she receives from her group and at home, Thulisile is developing well like any normal teenage. Her advice to others is, “never to give up and never stop taking their treatment, if they want to live and be like me.”
Adolescence is a particularly difficult time for people living with HIV – teenagers may find they are constantly disclosing their HIV status to new friends, acquaintances and lovers. They can be overwhelmed by school work and difficult home lives and are vulnerable to depression and substance abuse. Amidst all this it can be hard to focus on one’s health and treatment. In Bethelsdorp near Port Elizabeth our CJs met 19 year old Veronique to find out how she has coped with these demands during her teen years. Although Veronique has been living with HIV for 16 years, she didn’t find out until she was taken in by foster parents after she was raped and infected by her mother’s boyfriend. She began taking ARVs at age 14, and just like Thulisile, there have been difficult periods when Veronique has not wanted to take her medication. But with the attention of her foster mother, Sara Joubert, she has stuck to her regimen.
Sara is adamant that Veronique should be treated no differently to other youngsters. This means she has the same responsibilities around the house as her siblings – “She can’t say I’m HIV positive, I’m not going to cook,” – but it also means having conversations about partners and sex even though Veronique says she has no interest in boyfriends at the moment. It has also required Sara to educate others in the community who initially shunned Veronique because she is HIV positive. Veronique sees herself no differently, “because I live a healthy life and I’m on my treatment, I do whatever everyone does … So that’s my challenge in life; I don’t feel like I do everything with HIV.” It is a positive attitude carefully nurtured by her foster mother who advises other parents of HIV positive teenagers to be patient, loving and understanding: “when they see you care they will strive to get better and stay on their ARVs.”