HIV Activist: “The virus isn’t a death sentence”

Originally from Mahikeng, Nosipho Nxamagelo (23) came to Potchefstroom in 2018 to further her studies. Towards the end of that year, however, she was forced to face the unimaginable.

“It was just a random day on campus when they had a station for testing. My friends and I jokingly volunteered to ‘know our status’. “The plan was to get tested and share a photo of our results once we were done. It didn’t seem like a big deal, assuming that we were all negative,” she explained.

The next few moments were devastating for Nosipho when she heard the unthinkable.
“They told me I had tested positive. Being in denial, I somehow took the news like a champ.

I told myself I couldn’t cry over spilt milk and that I needed to move on, quickly,” she explained.
However, the reality sunk in when her friends reminded her of the agreement they had all made moments earlier. “Everyone was coming out with photos of their results, confirming that they were HIV negative,” Nosipho recalled.

“I lied and said my phone had died, but my results were negative. And we went about the day.”
Later that evening, things got overwhelming and Nosipho started feeling depressed.
“I kept asking myself why something like this could happen to me,” she recalled.

Feeling alone and scared of what would happen next, Nosipho confided in one of her closest friends Kamo. She has since been one of her greatest support systems.
“I didn’t feel judged by her. In fact, she always encouraged me to take my medication and reminded me that the diagnosis wasn’t the end of the world,” Nosipho said.

Nosipho kept the secret between her and her friend until her mother stumbled across her medication the following year.
“We were attending a funeral when my mother went through my toiletry bag and found my medication,” Nosipho explained. “She is a nurse, so she knew what the meds were for and there was no way of getting around it,” she said.

To Nosipho’s surprise, her mother was very supportive from the beginning. “All she asked was why I hadn’t told her,” she said.
Nosipho had thought that her mother would be disappointed that she had sent her to school to better herself.

Instead, she had “doomed” her future. In fact, it was exactly the opposite.
“Over the years of being a single mother, my mom had mastered the art of being a strong woman,” Nosipho observed. “Since then, she constantly checked in on me and always reminded me to take my medication.”
Nosipho took things one day at a time until she plucked up the courage to open up about her status earlier this year.

“I got a lot of mixed reactions. I was known to be smart at school so many people expected a lot from me,” she recalled. “But I chose to focus on the positive responses and offer my support to others who were struggling to accept their status.”

Since going public, Nosipho said she has noticed that many of her peers who are living with the virus, struggle to come to terms with it. “I’ve had a lot of people calling me at odd hours because they needed to break down without being judged,” she said.

“Each day, I get to realise my purpose in living with the virus. It warms my heart that I can offer support where possible,” she added.
Nosipho hopes to start an NPO one day, to support people living with the virus.
“HIV is not a death sentence. It’s not the end of the world; simply a new era in your life.
“Should anyone need a listening ear, please feel free to contact me on 079 651 7458.”