By Henry Lubulwa,The Citizen
Kalangala. Sarah Kabanda (not real name), is a fish monger at Kiruggu Island in Kalangala District. She is quite attractive, cheerful and appears to make friends easily. So I found it easy to engage her in a conversation. What was shocking, however, was the revelation she made about her HIV status and how she has had unprot...ected sex with many men.
“I believe I have had unprotected sex with about 80 men since I was diagnosed with HIV,” she says. Asked if she was aware that she was spreading the virus, Kabanda says that was none of her business. “I have nothing to worry about since I am HIV positive. If a man wants to sleep with me, why not,” she says.
Kabanda is not sure when and how she acquired the virus: “It could be a man I met in 2006 because I discovered in the morning that he had the type of tablets I take to sustain my CD count.” Her experience when she was younger, is probably what led her to live the life she does. When she was still in school in Buggala Island, Kabanda got pregnant.
“That is where I made the mistake of my life - falling in love with a classmate. When my parents learnt about it, they were furious and could not accept me back in the family. A friend suggested I take up a job at Kachanga Landing Site where I went and got employed as a barmaid. The bar owner was kind because he provided food and accommodation.”
However, Kabanda says, the pay was quite little and many of her friends earned extra money by sleeping with the men who came to the bar. She was lured into doing the same and only stopped when she got pregnant and finally gave birth.
Kalangala. Sarah Kabanda (not real name), is a fish monger at Kiruggu Island in Kalangala District. She is quite attractive, cheerful and appears to make friends easily. So I found it easy to engage her in a conversation. What was shocking, however, was the revelation she made about her HIV status and how she has had unprot...ected sex with many men.
“I believe I have had unprotected sex with about 80 men since I was diagnosed with HIV,” she says. Asked if she was aware that she was spreading the virus, Kabanda says that was none of her business. “I have nothing to worry about since I am HIV positive. If a man wants to sleep with me, why not,” she says.
Kabanda is not sure when and how she acquired the virus: “It could be a man I met in 2006 because I discovered in the morning that he had the type of tablets I take to sustain my CD count.” Her experience when she was younger, is probably what led her to live the life she does. When she was still in school in Buggala Island, Kabanda got pregnant.
“That is where I made the mistake of my life - falling in love with a classmate. When my parents learnt about it, they were furious and could not accept me back in the family. A friend suggested I take up a job at Kachanga Landing Site where I went and got employed as a barmaid. The bar owner was kind because he provided food and accommodation.”
However, Kabanda says, the pay was quite little and many of her friends earned extra money by sleeping with the men who came to the bar. She was lured into doing the same and only stopped when she got pregnant and finally gave birth.
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