Celebrities and HIV

Many of our stories come from rural areas but this week Siyayinqoba Beat It! shifts its focus as a reminder that HIV is a virus which anyone can get, regardless of their race, gender, wealth or status. To better understand this our CJs first visit an upmarket suburb of Cape Town to meet Roxy Marosa, an inspirational speaker, coach, mentor and international model who is living with HIV. We then meet Barbara Kingsley who works for a law firm and was inspired by a fellow HIV positive woman - the athlete Evelina Tshabalala - to take up distance running.

Roxy Marosa first discovered her status in 2000 when she fell pregnant. Her gynaecologist had noticed STIs which were indicative of someone sleeping around. At the time she was aware her then husband saw other people but was convinced he was not having sexual affairs. Nevertheless she tested her HIV status and learned she is positive. She says she went on a "journey of testing" - checking her status with various practitioners only to receive the same positive result each time. She experienced a mixture of emotions which included fear of rejection and the negative perceptions associated with promiscuity as well concern over the scare-mongering that went with HIV and AIDS at the time.

Roxy resolved to learn more about the virus and what was happening inside her body. She acknowledges the danger of glamourising the virus but believes it must be related to "as a virus, not as something that is going to take my life." Ultimately, she says, a person need not change themselves or their aspirations because they are HIV positive. It is a sentiment echoed by Beat It! presenter Nokubonga Yawa, who is also living openly with HIV, and sees herself as a role model for others. She speaks about the burden lifted by revealing her status and the hope that she can help others live their lives more easily by being open about the virus and her own status.

Barbara Kingsley's story also challenges perceptions about the virus. Like Roxy, Barbara could not believe her diagnosis at first and even though she understood the virus affected others she never thought it would affect her. For some time she lived in denial until finally her doctor informed her that her CD4 count was down to 86. She began taking ARVs and quickly regained her energy. Her next big turning point came when she heard about Evelina Tshabalala. Barbara had been uncertain about doing strenuous exercise as an HIV positive person until she read about Evelina - an HIV positive woman and athlete who has completed numerous marathons and ultra marathons and climbed both Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro.

Evelina's achievements made Barbara recognize that anything is possible. She recalls realising one difficult morning that what she most wanted was to go for a walk on the beach. She summoned the energy and that same motivation has kept her running every day since. If she has to run early in the day she simply carries her ARVs in a canister to take them at the side of course at the correct time. HIV and AIDS can confound expectations - both in terms of who it affects and how it affects them. Nokubonga has also experienced friends and family distancing themselves from her because of "shame" at her status and profile. Yet for her the challenge as an activist is to continue working to help others to overcome these perceptions.