Jackline is a young 18-year-old woman from Wakiso district who dreams of becoming a professional accountant. Having been orphaned at a young age, she lives with her grandmother who has limited resources. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and Uganda had to close schools in March 2020, an unexpected long holiday began for students like Jackline, and put her dreams on hold.
"When you stay home too long, you definitely cannot have the morale to read books and you just somehow forget almost everything they taught at school. Then you just stop even reading books because there is the thought of going back soon, and turns out you wait until you get tired, and you can't even read a single book."
In this idle period during the first lockdown, Jackline engaged in a confidential relationship with a taxi driver who promised her a future of roses.
“I was too naïve to think he was simply after my body for sex. I was so in love with him since it was my first time to engage in an emotional relationship with a man.”
After a one-time sexual intercourse, the man Jackline thought was in love with her vanished all of a sudden and cut off communication.
“At first, I gave him space, I thought it was a man thing I didn’t know about. A month elapsed and later in the second month, I realised it had been a while since I saw my period and it quickly crossed my mind that I could be pregnant.”
Jackline immediately went to a nearby clinic for a pregnancy test and result was positive. She also took a HIV test as advised by the health workers. When she received a positive HIV result, Jackline was in denial since she felt her love was perfect and there was no sign indicating that her lover was living with HIV.
“After all the devastating news I received about HIV, I tried contacting him several times through phone calls, however he always ignored my calls which forced me to head to his house. When I reached there, I was told that was not his house, it was for a friend. When I tried following up from neighbours, I was informed that he was a married man, and they were a happy discordant couple.”
Jackline confided in her grandmother who supported her emotionally and advised her to start antenatal care immediately for the safety of her unborn child. Jackline agreed and decided to go to Kajjansi HC IV where she was introduced to the several services offered like young mother dialogues organised by Alive Medical Services (AMS) through the SRHR Umbrella programme. After all the necessary counselling, Jackline was enrolled on ART treatment. She later started attending adherence sessions organised by AMS, which helped her maintain adherence and provided her with psychosocial support.
“Through the amazing team at Kajjansi HC, I got a chance to meet young girls like me and got encouraged about my purpose in life. They didn’t judge me at all and restored my dreams of becoming that accountant I have always wanted to become. I am certain, I will resume school.”
Since July 2021, Jackline has been part of an adherence group organised by Alive Medical Services (AMS), which has enabled her to fight self-stigma and depression. She never missed any of her antenatal appointments and maintained ART adherence and gave birth to a healthy and HIV-negative baby boy. With the support she received through the adherence group, Jackline gained confidence and she is now a happy mother. She has since then become a peer mother with Mildmay Uganda to support other HIV positive mothers and has witnessed over 30 HIV-free children born.
