Born and bred in Gweru the 25 year old Felistas says in her life she has never experienced any descrimination because of her status.
Felistas Vumba says she only got to know about her status when she was in grade 4. But by that time she did not understand what they meant when they said she was HIV positive.
“To tell you the truth, I cried but I don’t know why I was crying”, she said.
Adding on, Felistas says she never disclosed her status to anyone during her primary and high school education. However her status affected her as she developed low self esteem.
She narrated how she hated taking pictures with other kids at school and wanting to be alone most of the times.
Felistas went on and shared how some of the people whom she dated recieved the news of her status with some claiming to have lost memory and some suggesting that she should visit their churches for a breakthrough.
Moreso, Felistas revealed how supportive her family and friends were to her.
” I really met people with positive attitude towards me even after disclosing my status to them and I really thank God for that”, she added.
Furthermore Felistas said young people living with HIV should start by accepting themselves before wanting somebody else to accept them for who they are.
“For me it started with inner self acceptance, love who you are and what you have. It doesn’t matter what people think out there”, she added.
