Bongekile
Simelane -Spong found out at 19 that she had full blown AIDS after
suddenly falling ill. Manoeuvring through young adulthood at high school
was tricky she admits. “On my 22nd birthday, while driving home from
dinner, my then boyfriend suddenly flipped and called me a murderer who
was going to infect and kill him with my HIV. He kicked me out of the
car and left me in the middle of nowhere,” she says. Now engaged to the
love of her life Mandla Maphumulo, the 23 year old says the biggest
scare about living with HIV is wondering how your body will handle
growing old with HIV. “Chances of having cervical cancer are 50% more
for HIV-positive women. I
panic each time I get sick.” Despite that and a history of being
sexually molested by her uncle in her childhood, Phindile maintains a
positive attitude and plans on having children of her own in the future.
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