Centurion author writes inspiring story of disease in middle-class community
Lana Hitge, a Centurion writer attempted to tell the story of a woman in a middle-class community of Pretoria, who lived with Aids.
Although HIV/Aids is a very real problem on our continent, many who are HIV positive or who have full-blown Aids still carry a stigma with them. It’s something many of us don’t understand, and is not always an issue that we think affects us directly.
Lana Hitge, a Centurion writer attempted to tell the story of a woman in a middle-class community of Pretoria, who lived with Aids. She wanted to tell Mia’s story, a woman who eventually died of Aids-related complications.
“I did the interview with a woman who really suffered with the disease. The book is about this woman telling me her story. The goal was not to bring awareness to Aids, it was purely to tell her story. One month after my interview with Mia, we buried her, and I left the story on my hard drive, having absolutely no motivation to finish the book.
“After going through a tough time in my personal life, I was looking for meaning, and a way out of my difficult situation. I knew Mia’s story was the solution, but still resisted. I got my act together and put Mia’s life in a story, word for word. By that time, she already made a huge impact on so many people’s lives.”
‘Ek is VIGS Mia’ was born.
Although Hitge actually prefers to write shorter stories, she could not let this one go, as it had so much emotion and realness to it.
“I love writing about stories that people share with me. Things that really happened. I’m in the process of publishing a book called My Moer-By Bundel, which has a lot of elements of Mia’s story.”
Hitge described herself as a very good listener, and emphasised that keeping her ears open to other’s people’s experiences was the best approach when looking for story ideas.
“With Mia’s story, it was hard because Aids is a long-term sickness, I had to construct a timeline for her life and how Aids affected different parts of her life. By the time I interviewed her, she had already started to speak in circles, and lots of her memories were mixed,” she said.
“We are remarkable beings, each with a lifetime of stories and events that influence us. If you listen well enough, you’ll find incredible things to tell.”
Through some of the feedback that Hitge has received of her book, she realised that many people who have loved ones with either HIV or Aids, were also on an emotional roller coaster and they too needed support.
“I’ve seen first-hand what the emotional toll of such a diagnosis can have on everyone involved, something I only realised when people started reading the book.”
If you would like to read ‘Ek is VIGS Mia’, send her an email to lana@griffelwriemelkous.co.za for more information.
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