But the third
annual Y+ Beauty pageant held in Kampala, Uganda, this past weekend also
had some unusual features. All of the more than 150 competitors were
HIV positive — the Y+ stands for "young person living with HIV/AIDS."
Also, many of the participants were men — along with a Miss Y+ they
crowned a Mr. Y+. Most important, says the organizer, Jacquelyne Alesi,
however dashing the two winners happen to be, they were actually picked
based on their "inner beauty."
This stigma risks holding back not just individuals but Uganda's economy as a whole, adds Alesi. One out of 14 Ugandan adults is currently living with HIV/AIDS. And while well over half
of those infected are on medications that can keep them not just alive
but healthy, Alesi says many still face discrimination by potential
employers.
Alesi, who is HIV positive herself, recalls the
reaction about three years ago when she disclosed her status during a
job interview. She was up for a marketing position. After the
interviewers told her they thought she was well-qualified, Alesi said
she might require an occasional sick day because she was HIV-positive
and would need the time off to get her medication.
"The way
they looked at me! Everything changed," she says. "Immediately they
started asking me, 'Why didn't you tell us right away? You should have
put that in your CV!"
Alesi was so put off she withdrew herself
from consideration. "I had to show them that I'm an empowered person —
that I don't need to be stigmatized," she says.
UNYPA's principal mission is to reach out to young
adults. Two years ago Alesi was searching for a better way to do so when
she thought, "a pageant!"
"Everybody pays attention to a pageant," she says laughing. "Not just in Uganda but worldwide."
Her instincts have paid off. The first year that UNYPA held the contest only 10 people competed.
Last year that number grew to 78. This year the number roughly doubled. They
were recruited from health centers all over Uganda to participate in
special "auditions" held earlier in the year in the capital and various
districts. The auditions are essentially regional pageants to select
semi-finalists for the national contest. But the true purpose is to
bring together as many HIV-positive young adults as possible for a
day-long information and hangout session.
During talks and
discussions in between the pageant rituals, UNYPA staffers try to dispel
myths. For example, says Alesi, a lot of HIV-positive youngsters
mistakenly believe the daily pills they're getting against AIDS also
protects them from pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
Alesi
says there's also tremendous value to simply introducing so many
HIV-positive young adults to one another. There's such a taboo against
revealing your status that many don't realize how common their situation
is.
"They think they are the only ones living with this," she
says. "So they basically start stigmatizing themselves" — shying away
from social activities or work opportunities because they feel depressed
or afraid they'll be outed and made fun of.
That's also why
the 45 semi-finalists who are selected through the regional auditions
are then sent to a week-long farming "boot camp" in the countryside.
They're given lessons on how to start small agricultural enterprises
such as raising a few cows, or trees that can earn them a little money.
The hope, says Alesi, is not just to give the participants practical
skills but to prove to them that there's no reason they can't be
self-sufficient. "We want to give the courage to feel that just like any
other young person they can earn money by working hard."
Many
have been dealing with feelings of inadequacy or isolation since
childhood, she adds. This year's Mr. Y+ — 24-year-old Henry Kirabira —
was born HIV-positive. Kirabira, who grew up in the capital, had no idea
he was infected until he was 13. He started suffering recurring bouts
of sickness — high fever, rashes, and a debilitating cough that was
repeatedly diagnosed as tuberculosis. "It was really affecting my
education — I used to be in bed on a monthly basis," he says. So health
workers finally recommended that he get tested for HIV.
The
results sent him into shock. "For an entire month I was like, 'I'm going
to die — and being a young boy, that was so painful.'"
Those
fears dissipated when he realized the antiretroviral drugs he was put on
were restoring his health. But then Kirabira had a new problem: keeping
his secret from classmates at his boarding school.
Every time
the nurse would dispense Kirabira's medication to him, he says, the
other students would get suspicious. "They would say, 'What is all that
for?'
He tried telling them it was for stomach trouble. But the
other kids soon figured out the truth. After that, Kirabira says, they
taunted him, or, just as hurtful, avoided him.
Kirabira, who
graduated from college with a degree in social work, says he at least,
hasn't faced job discrimination. But that's because he's working for his
family — he manages a small restaurant owned by his mother.
And
it wasn't until two years ago that he felt ready to go public with his
HIV status. Staffers at the health clinic where he gets his medication
were encouraging him to speak at community gatherings, he explains. He
also felt emboldened by the example of two prominent Ugandan celebrities
who had revealed their status: the singer Philly Bongoley Lutaaya and
dancer/DJ/radio personality Moses Nsubuga. Then there was the news that
Kirabira's viral load — meaning the amount of HIV circulating in his
system — had dropped to an undetectable level. "I'm living with [HIV]
and I have a successful life," he says. "So I felt like I could give
hope to others."
While other contestants displayed more
traditional talents during that portion of the competition — singing and
reciting poetry for instance — Kirabira won the judges over with a
motivational speech about overcoming HIV/AIDS stigma. He also nailed the
most important hurdle in the contest — an extensive interview with the
judges. His prize will be a scholarship to the education program of his
choice. Kirabira, who currently volunteers as a youth coordinator with a
group that helps people in refugee camps, is still sorting out the
details. But he thinks he'll use the scholarship to take a university
course that would qualify him as an HIV/AIDS counselor.
Now
that his victory as Mr. Y+ has propelled him to prominence he has
noticed some whispering in the neighborhood. When he walks around, he
says, "You know, I'll hear that people are saying, 'Oh that guy is HIV
positive.'"
"But I don't mind what they're saying," he adds. "I've overcome this stigma. And know I'm not alone."
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/29/495904420/uganda-crowns-mr-and-miss-hiv-positive
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