Call it Heroism? Tariro Chikwanha's Story.

CALL IT HEROISM?

TARIRO CHIKWANHA’S STORY.

I always get excited when I have the opportunity to write stories about people; to be able to unfold the complexities and intricacies of their beautiful lives through a series of carefully thought-out words; to bring to life tales of their pain and tales of their triumph.

Today I went to sit down with a very special lady. I knew the outline of her story and knew it would be an interesting one, but it was only after I listened to her that I realised just how remarkable her life is. I left the table with a new reverence for this woman who has fought so many battles and will continue to fight. In the entire time we spoke, there was not even a single sense of self-pity underlining her words. Instead, she spoke matter-of-factly, as if there was no other option but to fight the good fight, and to win it.

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Tariro was declared HIV+ in 1997, at a time when contracting HIV was so severely stigmatised, people would have thought she had caught the Plague. There was no way of obtaining Antiretrovirals at the time due to the cost in Zimbabwe. Everybody surely thought that this was the beginning of the end for anyone who tested positive. Tariro was absolutely devastated, as anyone who had the news broken to them would be. I can hear the bewilderment in her voice as she explains the question mark in her head: she was faithful to only one man. The sting of that betrayal drove the wedge of sadness further into her chest. She was now a woman living with HIV and she never went looking for it.

But Tariro is not one to give up that easily, she knew she had a storm ahead of her, but she was ready to weather that storm with every fibre of strength in her body. And she had her own pioneer to help her- Lynde Francis herself! Lynde was one of the first people to reach out and lend a supportive hand to Tariro at the time when she needed it the most. Having publicly come out as being positive herself a few years earlier, Lynde had more experience in the effects of the virus and how to deal with it. She comforted Tariro and taught her about the use of herbs and good nutrition to help with the side effects of the HIV.

In 2002, Tariro felt she was strong enough to extend her own helping hand to others who are in the shoes she once was in, and started her own support group in her home community of Zengeza, Chitungwiza. Despite having being denied by her own family who thought the virus was contagious as if it were Measles, she pushed for the acceptance of HIV/AIDS. ‘The stigma was caused by lack of knowledge of the virus,’ she said. She managed to convince her dad that she was going to be okay and she was not going to give anybody the disease by simply being in the same vicinity as them. In 2004, Antiretrovirals became more widely available in clinics and hospitals. She was the first person in her area to mobilize movement for the ARVs. She influenced HIV+ positive people from 25 different wards to take the medication and prolong their lives. What’s even more astoninshing is that Tariro wasn’t on ARVs at the time, because her CD4 count was not low enough. But she simply did not want to see people succumb to HIV/AIDS when there was a way, no matter how minute, that she could help. She went on to the medication in 2010 when her CD4 count dropped to 104.

Having been shown love and support through her journey, Tariro decided it was time to give back even more, and in 2007 she started the DREAMS HIV/AIDS Youth Support Network, which became a registered trust in 2008. It was aimed at promoting treatment literacy, boosting confidence, educating on sexual reproduction rights, and all-round empowerment amongst HIV-affected youth. She believed that more could be done to stop the alarmingly high death rate amongst children affected by the virus. Many kids lost their lives during the 90s and early 2000s due to lack of ARVs and , when they were introduced, gaps in the treatments being taken. To this day, Dreams still stands, changing the lives of many at the Centre in Mbare, with the help of the Lynde Francis Trust.

As if that wasn’t enough suffering to deal with for an entire lifetime, another blow was dealt to Tariro when she was diagnosed with Leprosy and then with nuclei TB in 2015. When she told me this, I sat there completely horrified that somebody’s life could take such a drastic turn in the blink of an eye. Not only did she have one dreaded disease, but now two at once, on top her condition. Not many people would have hope by now, but as Tariro retold the story, she never showed any signs of wanting to give up. Instead, she simply said that she went for treatment and finished her two courses in 2016. It was just that. She kept on fighting. There was no time to give up.

By this time, I was speechless at the sheer amount this soldier of a woman had to endure. I know that if I were in her shoes, I would not be nearly half as strong and persistent in my battles to win. But there was more. As impossible as it seemed, there was still more to come. 8 months ago, Tariro was diagnosed with cancer. Being HIV+ is one weight of its own. Having cancer is its own burden to carry, painful in its own right and often deadly. To have them simultaneously is utterly unimaginable. I simply couldn’t believe it. Her cervical cancer was at stage 2B and the metastasis was at Stage 4. When posed with the question of how she managed to handle the news, Tariro proclaimed that she was in good hands and her doctor eased her into the processes about to unfold. It is common for positive women to get cervical cancer, and it is not a death sentence, just like how HIV wasn’t either. It is universally known that chemotherapy is no easy treatment, and even the Herculean Tariro admits to struggling through the first session. ‘It is very painful the first time. I didn’t think I would’ve been able to go through with it. The side effects were awful. My skin was too sensitive to touch, I was constipated and I just struggled to cope.’ But thanks to the amazing work of Dr Ndlovu, Senior Doctor of Radiotherapy at Parirenyatwa, her doubts and fears were laid to rest. She is now going for her fifth chemo session next week and is hopeful for the future! ‘It gets better!’ she says.

This undoubtedly has to be one of the greatest survival stories I have ever had the privilege to know. And I am more than honoured to be writing this piece to commending a person who has fought some of the hardest battles known to man, and has lived to tell the tale. She is a soldier on the frontline of her own war, and she is not waving the white flag anytime soon. When asked what made her fight so hard despite the continuous curveballs hurled her way, she said that there was no room to give up. Being the sole breadwinner of her family, with a son to put through school (her husband passed away in 2000). She also knew she had so much more life to live and lives to change and her work was not yet done. Tariro believes she would not have the privilege of telling her story had it not been for the amazing women helping her along the way (they know themselves). She is sincerely grateful for the opportunity to live that she feels has been given by God. The funds raised by her friends has helped her fight this latest disease.

This battle has been going on for over 20 years now, and it will be fought for many more years.

This battle has been going on for over 20 years now, and it will be fought for many more years.

This battle has been going on for over 20 years now, and it will be fought for many more years.

Pictured above- Tariro and Ondine Francis

Written by:

Alisson Bezuidenhout

12/02/20