Boma's story

To any bystander Boma Jack’s life appeared to be a fairy tale. She had a loving husband, two children and a comfortable lifestyle. They were not rich but there was a lot of love and happiness in their home. After a few years of marriage, Boma became seriously ill and was admitted into hospital where she spent a few weeks. Her family was able to breathe a heavy sigh of relief when she finally got well.
Things went well for the Jack family until Boma was mandated by her employers to take an HIV test as part of the requirements of the staff medical scheme. To her dismay, her test results came back positive. “How could this have happened”, she thought to herself. She had been faithful to Richard, her husband of many years. People like her do not become HIV-positive or do they? How could she have contracted the virus? These and many other questions ran through her mind as she received her test results.
She made an appointment to see a trained HIV/AIDS counsellor at the local government hospital where she learnt that the HIV virus was not only sexually transmitted but could also be transmitted through other means such as blood transfusions, sharing of needles and sharp objects. Thinking back, Boma remembered that she had had a blood transfusion when she was seriously ill some time ago. She then knew that she had become infected due to receiving infected blood during the transfusion.
When she broke the news to her husband, he was furious and accused her of being unfaithful to him. All explanations that she had become infected because of a blood transfusion fell on deaf ears. Boma’s husband threw her out of the house and refused to allow her take the children with her or see them. He said he did not want her to infect him or his children with the disease. To make matters worse, Boma’s employers informed her that her services were no longer required. She was faced with a grave dilemma; she had no job, her husband had thrown her out, her family had turned their backs on her. How would she survive with no money to buy food, anti-retroviral drugs? She had nowhere to go and had become an outcast in her community.
Boma became disturbed and resolved to commit suicide in order to put an end to her misery and shame. On her way to the bridge where she planned to end her life, she saw a billboard stating that people infected with the HIV virus could still live normal lives. She saw that the advert had been placed by an NGO called HOPE which helped people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) become re-integrated back into society.
At HOPE, Boma and other PLWHA were taught various skills that would help them become self-sufficient. They were also given anti-retroviral drugs at subsidised rates which would help slow down the spread of the disease. Many experts came to the HOPE Centre to counsel and teach about HIV/AIDS and to dispel the myths surrounding it. Gradually, with the love and support of the HOPE staff and seeing other people with similar problems as herself, Boma became more confident and her hope was renewed.
As part of activities organised by the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) to mark the national AIDS awareness week, a concert was held where PLWHA showcased their various talents and achievements they had made after discovering their HIV status. Boma was chosen to represent the HOPE Centre at the event. She was asked to tell her story to the audience to make people aware of the stigma attached to the disease. At the end of Boma’s speech, there was not a dry eye left in the audience. The president of the country was so touched that he promised to give Boma a sewing machine as well as a sum of money to help her establish her own fashion business, as she had learnt sewing skills at the Centre. The president also promised that through the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies, the government would create more awareness about HIV/AIDS to reduce the stigma attached to it as well as making anti-retroviral drugs readily available to PLWHA at very low costs.
Boma’s story is true for many people living with the HIV virus in Nigeria. There is a stigma attached to carrying the virus. It is widely thought that the virus can only be spread sexually and a majority of the population are reluctant to know their HIV status for fear of being treated as outcasts by friends and family in the community. Although the government has made subsidised anti-retroviral drugs available in its hospitals, unscrupulous staff members often hoard these drugs and sell them off to members of the public at outrageous prices, thereby making it difficult for many people to afford them.
The government also needs to create more awareness about the disease to prevent society from stigmatising PLWHA. People living with HIV/AIDS can still live normal lives with proper nutrition and anti- retroviral drugs. Employers do not need to lay off employees who become HIV-positive as they can still live normal lives. Rather, they should support them in every way they can as this will even help increase their productivity.
There is a need for more non-governmental organisations like HOPE to provide support and counselling to people living with HIV/AIDS to help them become integrated back into society. They should be taught life-building skills that will not only help them become financially independent but also more relevant to their families, the local community and the nation as a whole. Counselling should also be given to family members to help them deal with the disease as well as provide support for infected family members.
A HIV-positive status does not necessarily mean early death or loss of livelihood. People living with HIV/AIDS still have a lot to contribute to the society and should be given love and support rather than being stigmatised.