Lebogang Brenda Motsumi is a 25-year-old HIV positive mother of one. The
HIV activist, who is now working towards an Aids free generation shared
this inspiring words on Facebook:
"Good morning, my name is Lebogang Brenda Motsumi aka African Queen. I
am NOT HIV, I am LIVING with HIV. I am not the virus, the virus lives in
me.
I am not defined by HIV, but I define HIV"
Brenda found out she was HIV positive in 2009 after she read an article
by a popular guy whom she dated.
In the article, the man revealed his status and said
he was sick. She got tested and was diagnosed with HIV. However, she
lived in denial until 2011 when she finally accepted her status on
discovering that she was pregnant. She took ARVs to protect her
child.She went back to partying and drinking after the birth of her
daughter.
"Since I was not looking sick I thought there was nothing wrong so I
went back to living my life until I got very sick in August and I came
to the decision that HIV is real and its for you to move on for my
family and daughter. It's for me to accept it and live positively. I
then joined a youth support group and I noticed that I wasn't the only
one living with HIV as there were also some young people living with
it."
Her daughter is HIV negative. She disclosed her status to her family and
later made it public. Brenda now has a foundation and her message to
the youth is "BE SAFE. If you can't stand condoms then ABSTAIN"
No comments:
Post a Comment