Positive living - Pamela Kaseke-Mushore
The days following a positive HIV test can be one of the most difficult periods in a person’s life. All the stress, fears and worries over personal health can really destroy the spirit. But one person who refused to give up hope is Pamela Kaseke-Mushore, founder of the Fountain of Life support group for people living with or affected by HIV. In this article, she talks about her life after her positive diagnosis, as well as her ambition to find help, not just for herself but also for others in a similar situation.
My dream to start a support group for people living with HIV came to me shortly after my own diagnosis in the April of 2000. As a born-again Christian, I had desperately needed an organisation which could provide support to me in the sort of Christian way that I wanted. However, when I looked around, I could find none.
In those days, I had to deal with a lot of issues – my health, my career plans, my relationships, my immigration status, the fears and the concerns around my being HIV positive etc…. I was desperate for somebody to talk to, somebody who not only understood the predicament I was in, but could also lend me spiritual comfort.
Amid the emotions that followed the diagnosis, I wondered how I was going to tell my friends and relatives. Fortunately, through prayers, I found the courage to inform my loved ones about my status. My fellow church members were very understanding; it was partly through their support and encouragement that I was able to come to terms with living with HIV.
With my confidence restored, I then asked myself, if faith helped me to accept and live with my diagnosis, surely it can do the same for my friends and other people with the infection. So it was that, with the help of a few friends, I started Compassionate Acceptance Need, or CAN. Right from the start, we intended CAN to be a faith-based group driven by the need to nourish and give health to people living with HIV.
God’s love knows no limits!
In 2008, ‘Fountain of life’ (FOL) was launched as a support arm of CAN. It was intended to work for the following:
- The need for understanding of people who have HIV;
- The need for HIV positive people to share and learn from each other’s experience of HIV;
- An opportunity to find out about HIV and sexual health services;
- An opportunity to access health promotion skills;
- Having a break and a time for socialising.
Key services provided by FOL include:
- Monthly support group meetings;
- Workshops on aspects of HIV treatment and care;
- Excursions to holiday destinations in the UK;
- Picnics;
- Referrals of specialist sexual health services.
FOL’s main priority is to give members the opportunity to enjoy the same fun they used to have before they were diagnosed with HIV. We want them to know that having HIV does not necessarily signal the end of everything. They can, and should still enjoy life to the full.
Apart from having a good time, members are also encouraged to make the best use of available HIV information, including news about HIV treatment and related care services. Occasionally, we provide details about local services such as counselling, peer support and emotional support. Members who need deeper spiritual guidance can be quickly linked to faith groups such as London Ecumenical AIDS Trust (LEAT) and CARA Trust.
One of the biggest challenges that HIV positive Africans face is stigma, whether from other people, or internalised stigma (the fear that other people will stigmatised you for having HIV). Coming together at the FOL support group has really helped to deal with the fear of stigma. There is comfort in knowing that having HIV does not turn someone into different human specie; that we are normal people.
People with HIV who would like to join Fountain of Life support group can contact Pamela on 07501459543.
Other useful services for people living with HIV:
He Intends Victory tel 07940 031439
London Ecumenical AIDS Trust tel 020 77012200
African Advocacy Foundation tel 020 7738 7238
Organisation of Positive African Men tel 020 7923 4744
THT African emotional support tel 020 7812 1777
THT refugee mentoring tel 020 7812 1715
CARA Trust tel 020 7243 6147
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Comments
Love can derail all taboos.
Kudzai-Martin Mandizha
01 Feb 2010 07:04
You must be highly commended for the amazing work that you are doing with CAN and all then other umbrella organisations that you are working in conjunction with. It is high time that as the African community we come to terms with dealing with the HIV/AIDS issues at hand.
The "taboo element" must become a thing of the past, as we can only derive ignorance from this kind of approach.When ignorance takes precedence then all the positive elements of tackling the issues are lost.
I believe that more could be done in terms of supporting from a faith point of view.Only a number of African churches will talk openly about HIV/AIDS.The few that have crossed the "taboo element" must tag along with projects like CAN and spearhead a better understanding within the African community in the UK, and help to eradicate the lame thoughts.
Communities back home in Africa can only gain from us if we are moving in a positive direction.We have the resources at our disposal which makes it easier to be in a postion to make more informed teachings to our people about the whole HIV/AIDS issue.We have qualified personnel within the country, who as a community we can call upon and have them teach us.Once we have grasped those teachings, then together we can move in the right direction from there, and take the positive ideas to communities back home.
In all this LOVE has to be the centre of what we do.Whether one is religious or not is not the point,but the truth is that every human being on earth needs love in their life.
One author wrote:"To love is nothing,to be loved is something,to love and to be loved is everything."
I am not shy or intimidated because of my religious affiliation, and being a christian has helped me understand the loving Jesus who laid his life for the world.What kind of love was that?
If we can derive lessons from Jn.3:16 then we can begin to operate on higher ground.In a nutshell,it talks about God loving the world.
Yes, the world,that is you and me who is reading this now.The world with its different religius ideaologies,the world with its different cultures,the world in its sinful nature and social and economic standards of people.Guess what?He loved it still-He did not cast out anyone.God loves us all-and we need to do that also, whether we are religious or not.The moment you stop functioning in love,you cease to be a creature that is fit to live among humanity.
How many people do you love?When we begin to work in the "love mode", we begin to break taboos and move into unchattered waters.We begin to see each other from an illuminated light that bears a Godly glow of the heavenly realms.This love will permeate through any barrier,be it physical or spiritual.We will not see the colour of the person, we will not see their religious affiliation,we will not see their social standing,but we begin to see a human being created in the image and likeness of God.We begin to see ourselves in others, and that way as communities we start to serve each other.That is the only way we can grow-black,white,mixed race-we are all God's creation and we can work together as one with love.
I am willing to work with CAN in bettering an understanding of issues surrounding HIV/AIDS,especially where the Christian perspective is concerned.Matters that need teaching in a Christian environment, and liasing with various church groups of any denomination and from all cultures that may be wanting to work with you.
Once again thank you Pamela, and the love of the Lord guide you in all that He has purposed for you.I pray that He enlarges your territory, and He that begins a good work in you will bring it to completion.