25-year-old Zimbabwean, who is herself HIV-positive, impressed the conference with her energy and openness in talking about her situation. As a teenager, she lost her father to Aids and then a few years later her mother. When she first came to Newlands Clinic in 2005 at the age of 13, she was so ill she could no longer walk.
After the conference, Maximina Jokonya also had the opportunity to visit a secondary school class in Basel. “The students know a great deal about HIV. However, even today, not everyone is properly informed. Some think you can get infected through saliva, for example.” Maximina is in her element when she’s talking with young people. Given her own story, it is extremely important for her to do something for children and adolescents with HIV, and in particular for orphans. “Thanks to the support I have received, I’ve gone from being a beneficiary to a mentor.”
Maximina Jokonya is keenly aware of the difference the right treatment and support can make: “If I hadn’t come to Newlands Clinic back then, I’d most likely not be alive now.” (Photo: Medicus Mundi Switzerland)
