Ntombizodwa and Nthato Sedibe are a young married couple from Soweto.   They have been blessed with one child. In 1999 Ntombizodwa discovered that she was HIV positive. She did so after her doctor persuaded to go for a blood test, following a recurring and severe bout of Eczema. Her boyfriend at the time died from an undisclosed illness. Just like many South Africans who test positive for HIV, Ntombizodwa kept her status a secret for four years. Eventually she disclosed it to her friends one of whom was her current husband, Nthato.

The pair remained friends for a while until they fell in love. ‘€œHe gave me a crown of life I will forever cherish. Upon approaching me to propose love, he said to me, he would ‘€˜like me to bear children for him’€™, said Ntombizodwa with a broad smile. Nthato knew her status very well at the time.

The two began to go for long term counselling sessions for couples at the Tshwarisanang Centre when Ntombizodwa fell pregnant with his child. He is still lucky that he is HIV negative. This couple says the community is very accepting of Ntombizodwa’€™s status. ‘€œSurprisingly, our neighbours have accepted us. They are aware of her status and are accommodating. They love us, we love them’€, said Nthato, looking at is wife.

A counsellor at the centre says it is encouraging to see more younger couples coming forward for help and advice. ‘€œWe get real voluntary couples who come because they just want to know and they want to support each other, and on the other hand we come across some who’€™ve been referred by clinics upon discovering that their primary reason for going to the clinic was not to test as a couple but one partner is already sick’€, said Thandekile Essien.

Essien says going to sessions of that nature as a couple is like taking your trust level to another level, because both parties need to be able to open up to the other. ‘€œWhen people are saying we are ready to (take a) risk because we love each other and we want to be together or because we want to build more trust in our relationship, it’€™s a worthwhile exercise’€ , she said.

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