My name is Ronald Kyambadde. I am 17 years old and in senior two. My first memory is of my father dying when I was about 4 years old and my mother being always sick and worried. Her friends would come and visit her and they would talk in whispers. The few words I would hear were slim (AIDS as the locals called it then) and testing. I think my mother’s friends were trying to convince her to go for testing and take me too since I was always sickly. (I realize this now after learning a lot from the AIDS clinic.) Sadly, she died in 2002 before we could go for testing.

I was left under the care of my uncle who tried everything he could to see that I go to school despite my always being sick. A friend told him about the Daughters of Charity home which is being taken care of by Children of Uganda and where they care for HIV/AIDS and other orphaned children. He approached them and I was taken to the Kiwanga home in 2002.

I would fall sick all the time and was always in the home clinic. I had a skin rash and my hair was very pale and falling off. The nurse, Aunt Justine, got concerned and took me to hospital for testing. I tested positive and after a lot of counseling I started taking medication. I had a rough idea of HIV/AIDS and that it would kill me like my mother. The children in the home also knew that if a person was always sick that was AIDS and I was such a person! I had to first be treated for T.B., and this meant isolation! So, I endured a lot of back biting. I was always miserable and not interested in school or making friends (what was the use - after all I knew I was going to die soon anyway!)

One day a gentleman (Uncle Hans) from USA who was working with Aunt Pat Davis (a board member for COU) came to visit us in the Kiwanga home. He had seen the dance troupe children performing at the World Bank in 2002 and talked to Aunt Rhita who was then the administrator of the Kiwanga home about HIV-positive children in the home. He paid for medication (ARVS) for two of us before meeting us. He visited the home in 2003 and that was the beginning of a great change in my life.

He talked to me for a long time and told me that he was also suffering from AIDS but had survived for over 17 years because of ARVS and careful living. I had told him about children teasing me about my status whenever we had a misunderstanding (this would make me feel ashamed and miserable and shut me up real quick). He told me the only way to stop that was to go public and tell all the children about my status and how I was fighting it and about the chance I had of living for a long time.

We did this one evening with him, first telling them about himself and how he was taking ARVS and for how long he had been doing it (he looked normal!). He told them AIDS was like any other chronic disease, e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, sickle cell anemia, etc. I then stood up in front of all the children and told them about what was happening in my life and that because of the ARVS I no longer fell sick all the time and my hair had gone back to normal. Surprisingly, they clapped for me. More surprising, they stopped teasing me about my status. After telling them I felt as if a great burden had been lifted off my shoulders since now I had no secret to hide.

I attend the Mulago teenage club (for HIV-positive teenagers) twice a month where we share experiences, and I see how lucky I am, more than most of them, as I have people who care for me and help me fight for my life. I also have other friends from Canada, Dr and Mrs. Ronalds; they have done a lot to boost my morale. They visit us every year and bring us a lot of presents and assure us that we have a future if we take our medication as we are told.

Life is still challenging because I cannot study in the school I would want to nor study what I would really love. My dream was to study catering (cookery and baking) but because of my status I cannot do that, so I have to re-think what I can do instead. It has demoralized me. Anyway, I have two more years before I study for a vocation.

I now get free ARVS from Mulago clinic for infectious diseases but thanks to Uncle Hans who started me on paid medication, I have a life and can look to the future.

Aunt Justine (the Kiwanga nurse) really takes good care of me: she makes sure I take my medication and am in good health. When I was still young, she would wake up in the night to take me for my appointment to the clinic where we would spend the whole day. She is like a second mother to me because of the care she gives me. (Great thanks to her.) I also thank Children of Uganda which makes sure my health is OK and I get the proper diet of a person on ARVS. Lastly, but not the least, I thank Daughters of Charity who made it possible for me to join Kiwanga Children’s Home.