The Sunday Mail
Garikai Mazara and Sharon Kavhu —
To many in and around Mudhindo township, Guruve, they know him as Dhazi, short-cut for Doesmatter, the name that he grew up with. Very few know him as Clifford Chigangaidze, the name that appears on his official documents.
Whatever his parents had in mind when they named him Doesmatter, what he has proved in the past years – in actual fact for more than a decade – is that attitude does matter when it comes to the fight against HIV and Aids.
Though Dhazi is not exactly the first-generation of patients to test positive for HIV, he can proudly say his is a long and inspiring tale of how one’s attitude and hope can be a useful tool in the fight against HIV and Aids.
In and around 2003, the days when HIV was still viewed by some with stigma and mystery and was little understood, he and his wife, Fungai Banda, set out to build their business complex at the township.
A year later, as they finished building a grocer’s shop, butchery and liquor store, illness set in. In a manner typical of many households, husband and wife thought their business rivals and/or the extended family were jealousy of their achievements and had cast a spell on him.
The intervention of sangomas was sought. This did not bring in any change and his situation was getting worse by the day. Then one of the nurses at Bepura Clinic, which serves Mudhindo and its environs, whispered into their ears that they should try HIV counselling and testing.
“When we went for the testing,” recalled Dhazi in a recent interview, “I tested positive and my wife tested negative.”
That was to be the beginning of a long and arduous journey that was to test their marriage, love, business and family.
“For four years I did not sleep in the same bed with him,” said Fungai.
The skin on her husband’s lips was peeling, his nails were coming off, and in the early days of treatment, he reacted had a nasty rash all over his body and pus oozed where he had scratched himself raw.
“My lips were so red that most of the time I had to use black lip stick just so that I was lookable in public. But I couldn’t do anything about my nails, those on my toes, they were coming off one by one.
“I remember what people used to say then, that I would not last a day longer. Some, especially sahwiras, openly joked that they would come to my funeral the following morning. But I have since buried many people here in the township, (both HIV) positive or not,” he smiled.
Dhazi said what carried the day – and his life – was that he gave little care to what people thought or said.
“Being in business, especially in a rural set-up, you get all sorts of accusations. Some would say I had used black magic to make my business a success, and the ‘things’ were coming back to haunt me. Some openly told me that I would not see the shops that we had built, open. But I put logs into my ears and concentrated on my health.”
After testing at Bepura Clinic, he was referred to Guruve Hospital, where he was initially given a two-week dosage of co-trimoxazole after which he was initiated on a combination of lamivudine and stavudine.
“Within two weeks of taking the combination, I reacted badly. My whole body developed thrush and watery fluids and even pus was coming from the wounds. My whole mouth had thrush and I had difficulty eating even the most soft of foods.”
Fungai added: “There was little information available to people in the rural areas then about HIV and Aids. With thrush all over the body, we feared we could contract the disease if we interacted with him. So we agreed that we slept separately, an arrangement that was to last for about four years.”
The challenging part, she said, was feeding her husband.
“In a rural set-up like this, food options are limited, and what more if you are to be feeding some who has wounds all over his mouth? In the end it was a diet of okra, mashed potatoes and any soft foods that we could lay our hands on.”
Dhazi’s enterprising wife constantly journeyed to South Africa to look for stock for their grocer’s store.
“My diagnosis and initiation on ART was about at the time when things were getting worse, economically, in the country and my wife’s trips to Johannesburg helped a lot. I would get some health supplements from her trips and that boosted my health.”
The constant back and forth between Johannesburg came with its fair share of township gossip.
“Many people . . . were gossiping that I was the one who brought the virus into our marriage and had spread it to my husband. Most don’t even know that we are a discordant couple, that I am negative and he is positive.”
She said through various interactions, especially people in support groups, they came to know more about HIV and Aids, the risks, the precautions that needed to be taken, and the lies peddled about the condition.
“It was through these interactions that we were educated on condom use and how we can play it safe in our marriage. We have resumed being intimate and life has returned to normal,” said Fungai.
Blessed with four children, Dhazi and Fungai said though they have not sat down with their children to discuss the virus within their family, they were sure their offspring were well aware of what was going on.
“My illness was not a secret, it was public knowledge in the whole township, the environs and beyond. So to think that our children do not have any idea of what is going on in their family could be ridiculous.
“Probably what we have failed to do is sit down with them and educate them on what they need to do as they grow up. They need to learn from what we went through.”
