Imbizo’s Aids Day commemoration
MIDRAND - Aids activist Yvette Raphael was the keynote speaker at a HIV/Aids awareness gala dinner at Imbizo Shisanyama Busy Corner restaurant.
Raphael spoke about her work of championing the HIV and Aids cause after she tested HIV positive 15 years ago. This event was graced by local business people, activists and friends of Raphael.
Emcee at the event, Mogale Mashiapata, programme manager at Brother For Life, an initiative that raises awareness of men’s health issues, praised Raphael and said, “We are celebrating the life of someone who has been through difficult times but she has managed to pull herself up.”
Rita Zwane, owner and founder of the restaurant, said in her opening speech, “We have lost many of our friends and relatives as result of Aids.”
Raphael used her status as a springboard and founded Philani Support Group, an organisation that supports people living with HIV and Aids, based in Ivory Park and co-founded Tshwaranang Care Centre for Aids patients in Midrand.
“My life changed completely after I was tested positive. I was forced to sell my house in Ebony Park and relocated to Midrand. I fought endlessly with insurance people along the way,” she said.
She thanked her sponsors, The Ring Study and International Partnership for Microbicides. “I lost friends who were very close to me [due to the stigma attached to Aids] but my family remained my pillar of strength,” said Raphael.
