Frehiwot Amare
Frehiwot Amare, Age 27, lives in Addis Ababa at a place called Talian sefer. She is a mother of two girls, Redeat and Yabsira and one boy, Natnael. Natnael is 9 years old and is in grade 2. The second child, Redeat is 5 years old and not school yet. The other daughter Yabsira is only 7 months old.
Frehiwot got married and had the first two children from her first husband, Tesfaye. They got divorced three years ago and Tesfaye took his two children to live with him. However, he died after a long illness (Frehiwot thought it was TB) one and half years ago. Tesfaye used to work in the Kebele as a secretary and the children lived with him till he died. After he died, the children returned to their mother and started living with her in small room she has rented for 60 birr/month.
Frehiwot got the third child from her boyfriend, Abebe. Abebe is a delala (a sort of broker) and has an inconsistent income. When she was pregnant, she got sick and went to the hospital. The result of her test was bad news. The doctor informed her that she was HIV positive. After that, she was in bed till she gave birth. Like many others she had no access to an anti-retroviral drug to protect her child.
Frehiwot's boyfriend, Abebe, is visiting and supporting her and her children every time. She has not told Abebe so far that she was positive. She said “I am afraid to tell him but he is proposing to live with me. Without mentioning anything, I told him we need to take an HIV test first.” As she explained they never had sex since she had known that she was positive. That is why she wants him to take the test first.
She says, “I do not know whether my daughter, Yabisra, is positive or negative, as I did not take the anti-retroviral drug. The doctor has told me that they will make the test when Yabsira becomes 9 months.” Frehiwot worries that Yabsira might have the virus. Frehiwot is not breast-feeding Yabsira lest the virus is transmitted to her through breast milk.
Frehiwot joined the association of people who live with HIV/AIDS called Tesfa Goh (Dawn of Hope). As a member, she is receiving 100-kg of wheat and one can of oil per month. The association also gives her and her children free medical service. “With this and the support of Abebe, I am trying to feed my children properly but there were times that they had to go without food,” she explains.
“My children are healthy enough so far and I am taking care of them and make sure they are not to expose to the virus,” she explains. She adds, “I do not know how long I will live, but till I die, I will support my children. I wish my children would good education and good life in the future. However, I do not who can do that for them. I don’t have any well-off family and the only thing I am expecting is that find a humanitarian organization that could support them.”