Toen Zétta bij Orange Babies kwam, zagen onze collega's direct dat dit een meisje was met een grote rugzak. Het Orange Babies team was vastberaden om haar van deze zware last te ontdoen en haar met de juiste begeleiding een positieve blik op het leven te geven. Graag verteld zij haar verhaal.
"My name is Zétta. I am 16 years old and I am hiv positief. I don’t know my father, he died while I was a baby. I live with my mother. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. They are all hiv negative, I am the only one who is hiv positive. Why me, but not my brothers and my sister? My mother has never been able to answer that question. I use to be very angry and violent with my mother. I was always sick. My mother taught me to hide that I am hiv-positive. I didn't went to school most of the days because I was often sick and it was hard to hide the fact that I am hiv positive.
One day, my best friend told me she knew I was positive. As a reaction, I started to fight with her. It is that day that many people discovered my status. I stopped going to school completely. I was ashamed for my status and this affected my self-esteam. I stopped taking my medications. I got very sick. At the hospital, I met Orange Babies youth. For the first time in my life, I felt understood. Through Orange Babies youth, I met other boys and girls who were like me. We come together every week to support each other. They told me about PaKachele school where I don’t need to pay a school fee and where I can get education and food every day. They even give me menstruation pads without a problem so I can still go to school during this period of the month. I did not know that people can be so good for me.
Now, my mind is at peace. I am taking correctly my medications, I am not always sick anymore. I am going back to school and this teaches me all kinds of life-lessons. I am behind with my schooling, but that is okay. I am used to fighting with people, but now I promised myself to keep fighting for my own future. I am grateful for the opportunity for us to share our own story without feeling any shame. It gives us hope instead. Thank you to PaKachele and to Orange Babies. I am happy today because of them."
