Food for those taking ARVs on an empty stomach
Together they started a fundraising drive called Akabo (or a Luganda word to mean basket). “We have managed to collect one million Uganda shillings. We are going to buy food and distribute it using a bicycle!” an elated Hamah says.
Photo credit: E-blessed series photography
For about two years now, a young woman called Hamah Nsubuga has been open about her HIV status. “I am an HIV activist and I am also HIV positive,” that is how she introduces herself. Since opening up about her status, she has taken to encouraging those living with the virus to take their medication correctly. That was until the lock down; Hamah is now making sure those on medication have food at the very least.
“Many people living with HIV/AIDS are unemployed and very vulnerable. This COVID-19 crisis has affected us a lot!” she explains. Besides not having income, she says that the ban on public transport disrupted access to the much needed medication.
Some people started reaching out to her through Facebook and Twitter and it broke her heart. “I felt so bad at first because I had nothing to give,” she recalls painfully. One of the messages read, “Hamah, I am depressed. I am HIV positive and on drugs! My family doesn't know about my status because I fear judgement. Right now I just need to buy food and drinks; the tabs are so strong, if anyone could give me fifty thousand shillings, I will find a way forward somehow.”
It was the second message from a pregnant woman that got Hamah thinking of a way forward. This expectant mother had spent all the money she had hiring a pick-up truck to collect her medicine. “Hamah, I can't manage this situation. This lockdown found me six months pregnant and on medication. I am taking medicine on one meal a day, and I throw up every morning because I wake up hungry,” the woman cried out.
To avoid stigma, she blurred their names and posted the screenshots beseeching her followers to share whatever they had. “Some of my followers helped with a little contribution which I then divided and forwarded to each of person’s mobile money accounts,” she narrates.
However, when the lockdown was extended, the messages increased. “I didn’t know what next to do,” she says. After voicing her worries, a friend and fellow HIV activist, Williams Matovu, came on board. Together they started a fundraising drive called Akabo (or a Luganda word to mean basket). “We have managed to collect one million Uganda shillings. We are going to buy food and distribute it using a bicycle!” an elated Hamah says.
By Civsource Africa Team