Berikti's Life
I am an Eritrean woman who has been living with HIV for over four years.
I was not aware of NPL until the Specialist Nurse in the clinic I attended told me about it. I was living in isolation and in fear in the outskirts of London and travelled quite frequently to inner London to socialise.
I used to take an anti HIV drug that needed to be stored in the fridge and limited me from having a social life. If I wanted to stay overnight in my friend's place, I would not be able to take it with me since none of my friends know about my HIV status I have never used any interpreter for fear of being known by someone in the community. I have never met anyone in the clinic and I have been struggling alone for many years not knowing of others in my situation.
For over a year the Specialist Nurse kept on talking about this project being the ideal place to meet people from my own community and to learn about health and social issues in the language I understand. I initially contacted the project and talked over the phone to the person responsible. Once the first contact was made I started to receive regular phone calls which helped me a lot in building my confidence.
It was a huge relief to get someone to talk about HIV infection including support on issues such as housing and treatment. I eventually agreed to join the support group. It is now over a year since I became a member of Maleda, the support group held once a month at NPL. The members are few and the place comfortable. I not only made good friends but have gained knowledge and skills from trainings on HIV and treatment, self management, communication skills, healthy eating, designing greeting cards and motivation.
Living with HIV is hard; it does not need anymore challenges. I can say I have learned to think positively and see clearly that there is still hope in life with HIV. NPL's services can easily be accessed due to the worker's friendly approach.
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