A united front against HIV/Aids
The new home of the Knysna Aids Council (KAC),
Melrose House, was officially opened on 10th September 2004 in an interdenominational ceremony that took place in the middle of Queen Street. The Catholic Church donated use of Melrose House, formerly a convent, to the KAC, and The Anglican Church contributed R100,000 towards renovations and adaptations of this historic building in the centre of town.
A new anti-retroviral centre in the Knysna Provincial Hospital held its first clinic on 7th September. Irene Rinsma, HIV-TB co-ordinator for Sedgefield, Knysna and Plett, said by October the first patients would begin receiving medication.
And in a drive to encourage others to go for voluntary testing and counselling, executive mayor Dr Joy Cole, her deputy Andrew Finn and municipal manager David Daniels went to Melrose House to have HIV tests.
Speaking after his HIV test, Daniels said he had been through the procedure before. "I went for a test 18 months ago, when I was working for the City of Cape Town. Even though you are confident about your status, you never know." He said he met regularly with groups of Knysna municipal staff and always emphasised the importance of knowing one’s HIV status, and encouraged them to be tested, particularly in the light of the seriousness of the problem in the Knysna area.
Cole said she was relieved that she had had the test: "I am so pleased I’ve been through it. I feel delighted now. You think you have a safe lifestyle, but then you find yourself thinking what the hell I did that I was not aware of. Maybe I slipped up. In my early 30s I had a drop dead gorgeous boyfriend, maybe he was promiscuous?"
According to the latest statistics from Knysna municipal clinics, 18% of people who come for voluntary tests are HIV positive. And 15% of pregnant women are positive. In the townships in Knysna’s northern areas, 25% of people tested positive.
The Knysna Aids Council works with local, provincial and national health departments, Hospice and other NGOs to offer educational programmes, HIV testing and counselling, programmes to prevent mother to child transmission, and support to those living with Aids including financial support, health care, orphan care and home-based care.
At the Melrose House opening a Knysna HIV counsellor told the 150-strong crowd that she had been HIV positive since 1997. "It took me two years to tell my parents. I thought if I disclosed it would be selfish of me. When I told them I felt so happy and hopeful. The more I talk about being HIV positive the more I fell that I am doing the right thing. I have more energy and power to fight the virus."
Hospice nurse Sister Rhona Irving spoke about two children Hospice had treated for HIV. "Ronette was born in 1983 and was like any other girl. She ran fast and loved athletics, netball and skipping. When she was old enough she was told that she and her mother had HIV. Both of them always told other people that they were HIV positive. They worked on a vegetable farm and ate lots of carrots fresh from the ground every day.
"There were times when Ronette was ill, very ill. Times when we gave up hope. But she was a fighter. When her mother died she was sent to an orphanage in George, where she thrived even more. She died at the age of 16."
"In February 2000 twin girls were born. One was HIV positive, the other negative. Both weighed around 1.5kg at birth. Their mother died when they were two weeks old. The one twin thrived, but the HIV positive child had many problems. In spite of formula feeding and fresh vegetables she weighed only 3.4kg at the age of one. When she was four, and weighed 4.8kg, she started to crawl, talk and eat by herself. Shortly afterwards she started walking and playing with a ball.
"She would remind her grandmother when it was time for her medication. She was a pleasant, cheeky little girl with her own will. She died on 6th September."
The new home of the Knysna Aids Council (KAC),
Melrose House, was officially opened on 10th September 2004 in an interdenominational ceremony that took place in the middle of Queen Street. The Catholic Church donated use of Melrose House, formerly a convent, to the KAC, and The Anglican Church contributed R100,000 towards renovations and adaptations of this historic building in the centre of town.
A new anti-retroviral centre in the Knysna Provincial Hospital held its first clinic on 7th September. Irene Rinsma, HIV-TB co-ordinator for Sedgefield, Knysna and Plett, said by October the first patients would begin receiving medication.
And in a drive to encourage others to go for voluntary testing and counselling, executive mayor Dr Joy Cole, her deputy Andrew Finn and municipal manager David Daniels went to Melrose House to have HIV tests.
Speaking after his HIV test, Daniels said he had been through the procedure before. "I went for a test 18 months ago, when I was working for the City of Cape Town. Even though you are confident about your status, you never know." He said he met regularly with groups of Knysna municipal staff and always emphasised the importance of knowing one’s HIV status, and encouraged them to be tested, particularly in the light of the seriousness of the problem in the Knysna area.
Cole said she was relieved that she had had the test: "I am so pleased I’ve been through it. I feel delighted now. You think you have a safe lifestyle, but then you find yourself thinking what the hell I did that I was not aware of. Maybe I slipped up. In my early 30s I had a drop dead gorgeous boyfriend, maybe he was promiscuous?"
According to the latest statistics from Knysna municipal clinics, 18% of people who come for voluntary tests are HIV positive. And 15% of pregnant women are positive. In the townships in Knysna’s northern areas, 25% of people tested positive.
The Knysna Aids Council works with local, provincial and national health departments, Hospice and other NGOs to offer educational programmes, HIV testing and counselling, programmes to prevent mother to child transmission, and support to those living with Aids including financial support, health care, orphan care and home-based care.
At the Melrose House opening a Knysna HIV counsellor told the 150-strong crowd that she had been HIV positive since 1997. "It took me two years to tell my parents. I thought if I disclosed it would be selfish of me. When I told them I felt so happy and hopeful. The more I talk about being HIV positive the more I fell that I am doing the right thing. I have more energy and power to fight the virus."
Hospice nurse Sister Rhona Irving spoke about two children Hospice had treated for HIV. "Ronette was born in 1983 and was like any other girl. She ran fast and loved athletics, netball and skipping. When she was old enough she was told that she and her mother had HIV. Both of them always told other people that they were HIV positive. They worked on a vegetable farm and ate lots of carrots fresh from the ground every day.
"There were times when Ronette was ill, very ill. Times when we gave up hope. But she was a fighter. When her mother died she was sent to an orphanage in George, where she thrived even more. She died at the age of 16."
"In February 2000 twin girls were born. One was HIV positive, the other negative. Both weighed around 1.5kg at birth. Their mother died when they were two weeks old. The one twin thrived, but the HIV positive child had many problems. In spite of formula feeding and fresh vegetables she weighed only 3.4kg at the age of one. When she was four, and weighed 4.8kg, she started to crawl, talk and eat by herself. Shortly afterwards she started walking and playing with a ball.
"She would remind her grandmother when it was time for her medication. She was a pleasant, cheeky little girl with her own will. She died on 6th September."
