When Princess Zulu discovered she was HIV positive, she did not respond in despair. Rather than staying silent, which is what so many do in order to avoid the stigmatisation HIV entails, Princess took comfort in God and began to speak out.

“Immediately, I wanted to go public with my diagnosis and tell others,” she recalls.
In Zambia, where secrecy and denial contribute to the spread of AIDS, Princess knew how important it was to share her status and her hope in Christ.

Her husband ordered her to stop being so public about her condition. When Princess refused she was excommunicated from her church for disobeying her husband. Her husband lost three jobs as a result of discrimination against HIV.

In Zambia 20 per cent of the population has HIV, but many do not even know they have the illness. The test, which is worth $3 in Australian currency, is too expensive for the ordinary person in Zambia to undergo and people also fear the discrimination they will face if they are known to be HIV positive.

Princess, however, had a strong urge to know her status so she saved funds for the test.
To her dismay she found out at the hospital that she had to obtain her husband’s permission before she could be tested. After much crying and pleading, her husband agreed to allow her to be tested. He, along with their two young girls, was also tested.

“The people at the hospital thought we were crazy,” Princess explained. “They said, ‘do you really want your entire family tested?’ I told them ‘yes because knowledge is power’.

“When the test results were returned I was told that my children were HIV negative which was miraculous as I had breast-fed them and hadn’t taken any precautions during the pregnancies. But my husband and I were both informed that we were HIV positive.

“The doctor who talked to us didn’t give us any information. He just said there was no cure. I found out more about how to manage HIV for myself and immediately I began counselling people, telling them I was HIV positive and that we should be treated as equals.”

Princess is unsure how she contracted the virus, whether it was from her husband or from relationships before she committed her life to Christ, but she refuses to blame others.

Princess first encountered HIV/AIDS when she was orphaned as a teenager. Her mother had already died so she had to carry her father ten kilometres to the nearest hospital when he was very sick. At the age of fourteen her father died too. It was only looking back as an adult that Princess realised it was AIDS that claimed her parents’ lives.

Church leaders in Zambia were originally very cautious about Princess’ message.

“The Church didn’t want to talk about AIDS three or four years ago, they said they were not at risk, but in fact many of them are. It’s the discrimination and the stigma experienced by AIDS victims that really made them not want to talk about it. For example, if you have HIV you are not allowed to be a pastor.”

But Princess says the churches have an extremely important role to play in AIDS prevention. Like the watchmen in Ezekiel 33, Princess says the church will be held accountable if it does not warn its fellow countrymen about the dangers of living a non-abstinent life style if they’re single, or if they fail to commit to fidelity in marriage.

As the devastation caused by AIDS has been realised, the churches are waking up to the enormity of the task at hand.

“Pastors are going from funeral to funeral. Each month they lose many more friends who are leaving huge gaps in our congregations. Our pastors need counselling and our churches need sponsoring.”

Princess, now with the support of her husband and daughters, works with World Vision on a program with three arms.

The first is prevention, trying to ensure that the 80 per cent of people living in Zambia without HIV remain free of the virus.

The second is care and support for victims of AIDS. Many households in Africa consist of children only. World Vision tries to provide care for these children and also provides medical support for victims.

“Even if people can afford the anti-retroviral drugs, they don’t know who to treat,” Princess explains, “If a mother treats herself she feels selfish for not treating her child. But if she treats her child, she will die and there will be no one left to look after that child.”

The third arm of the work of World Vision is advocacy, advocating that people with HIV be treated as equals at the very least.

“Before I had HIV, I needed a hug. Now I need ten hugs. Those children who suffer from HIV need more love than anyone else because their time may be limited.”

Princess’ dream to be a broadcaster has also come true. Her program, Positive Living, is a live program about AIDS issues. It was originally broadcast on a Catholic community radio station, but when Princess won an award for her reports on AIDS her program was moved to a national station.

Princess is full of hope for her future. “With the drugs I can buy, because I am paid by World Vision, I may live another twenty years by which time my girls will be in their late twenties. Now isn’t that a better age to leave your children than six and eight?

“Yet most people in Zambia cannot afford these drugs, or the drugs needed to prevent the passing of the virus from mother to child.”

“If as a world community we can say, ‘we don’t want to see people dying like that and we want to help’, then we will begin to put our priorities into order.”

To support World Vision’s work in Zambia, call 13 32 40 or visit www.worldvision.com.au