MATHABO SEATILE

Mathabo Seatile is a 42-year-old mother supporting five children, her parents and a grandchild on a factory worker's salary.

She works at P&T Textiles in Mafeteng in Lesotho, and feels she has all the support she needs. When Mathabo first became ill and discovered she was HIV-positive she was really scared.

"I started to get weak and miss work. It was hard for me to get up in the morning. When I got home at night, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't look after my family."

"I started to think about HIV because people had visited the factory to talk to us about it. I didn't want to believe it. But I decided that I had to know."

Mathabo was tested. When she was told she was HIV-positive she fell apart. "I didn't go to work for a few days. I hid away in my house. I felt very lost."

Mathabo turned to the factory management and the ALAFA support group for help and says she was given all the support and guidance that she needed.

"I turned to them for help before i even told my family," she says "It was easier to speak to people who were also HIV+ because they also knew what it was like to be afraid. Knowing someone understands you is comforting when you think you are alone."

On the factory counsellor's recommendations, she registered for the ALAFA treatment programme. Her condition was advanced so she needed antiretrovirals, taken on a strict regime every day.

"In the factory we are given breaks to take our medication and there are people at the factory to help us."

Mathabo says that since she started treatment she can lead a full life without tiring and becoming weak.

It was difficult for her to tell her family but they have been very loving and supportive. "I feared for my children. I didn't want them to be scared of their mom, but they were very strong."

Mathabo and her husband are still together. He has recently been tested and is waiting for his results.