Being an HIV positive mother
6 July 2006Jane Ogutu is a widow who contracted HIV from her husband before he died in 2004. He never told her he was infected.
Now, Jane who is 32, cares for her three children, and her husband’s parents, on her own small salary from her job as a primary school teacher.
Jane Ogutu, an HIV positive mother
© CARE 2006/Sophie Kummer
Money is tight, and Jane, who lives in a rural area of Kenya called Siaya on the shores of Lake Victoria, has to think of her own health needs for medication as well as food and school fees, books and uniforms for her children.
She says: “At times, when I am sick, my children are forced to do my work to help me support the family. I have been very open with them and they know my status. At first they were shocked, but I assured them that I was not going to die soon. I know that someone who is HIV infected can postpone his or her death depending on how they take care of themselves.”
CARE believes that one of the best ways Jane can take care of herself properly is by earning money.
Jane is a member of a savings and loans group run by CARE International, and she and her 15 group members save together what they can each month to build up a pot of shared money between them. In this group, they save just under £1 a month each. Then, when each member has a need – for example, to buy extra food, or pay a doctor’s bill – they can take out a loan to do so, which they later pay back at a reasonable rate.
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Some group members, Jane included, also take out loans to start up small entrepreneurial activities so they can make more money to supplement their income. Jane sells fish and vegetables in the local market, after buying them cheaply from the fisherman at Lake Victoria’s shores.
Jane explains: “There never used to be enough to eat, we used to have two meals a day, made up of cheap vegetables and ugali (a local maize-based dish). Now, with the help of CARE, I can balance my diet and that of my children. We can have three meals a day now.
“Food is so important if you are HIV positive. You need to live healthily and take care of yourself, so earning money has really helped me to do that. Also, I know I am more independent, and am able to financially square my problems, so I feel more confident in life too. That also helps me to fight off depression and be healthier, so I am confident I can live longer because of that too.”
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