PEER COUNSELORS

Meleko was one of the founding members of Nkaikela in 1998. She is originally from Kgatleng District. As a former sex worker, Meleko wanted to help those who desperately needed help. She was witnessing a lot of women dying from HIV and wanted to make a change. She previously had volunteered at Emang Basadi; yet, they served Gaborone only. Furthermore, she brought Emang Basadi to Tlokweng to extend the scope of the work and the project. She would donate her own money to help people, which depicts how dedicated she was to the project. To put it simply, she refuses to give up and let women die. Twenty years later, she serves as the field work coordinator, a board member and a peer outreach worker for Nkaikela Youth Group. Her dedication and commitment to helping sex workers gain equal access to health care services is apparent in her many years of volunteering at Nkaikela. She has one son who is 29 years old. As he grew up, Meleko made it a point to teach him about contraception and protection. She wants to help all children and all families.

Mpho has been working at Nkaikela since 2003. She is from Tlokweng. Before coming to Nkaikela, she witnessed many friends and peers dying from HIV. She was concerned regarding their sexual promiscuity and wanted to help women. Since she began her role as a peer counselor, she has seen incredible growth in medicine use and testing. She’s happy to be a part of a big change that is saving women’s lives. She also appreciates the work of Nkaikela that helps women get ID cards if they do not have them and emphasizes the importance of having an ID card.

Kentse is originally from Francistown. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2004. She came to Nkaiekla to help people just like herself. She is living with HIV and she wants others to know that living with HIV is not an immediate death sentence. Kentse tested positive in 1997. She began ARVs in 2004 and is still living. She emphasizes that she is no different than a woman who is not living with HIV. As long as woman living with HIV take their medication diligently, there is no difference. Kentse sees the importance of helping the infected and those affected by HIV.

Mmaonyana is originally from Thamaga Village. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2007. She came to Nkaikela to improve her life as well as other women’s lives. When she started at Nkaikela 11 years ago, Nkaikela focused on condom use. She is happy to see how the organization has progressed to focus on HIV/AIDS prevention and education. She would love to be able to help sex workers find better jobs, appropriate health care and ultimately better lives.

Boitumelo is from the Digawana Village. She has been working at Nkaiekla since 2010. She’s always wanted to help vulnerable populations. Specifically she wants to see sex workers get the health care they deserve. She consistently works to spread messages of the importance of condom use and the potential risks of HIV. She has one son who is 29 years old.

Jacqueline is originally from Mahalapye. She has been a peer counselor since 2015. She has witnessed a lot of suffering and wanted to make an impact in society which is what drove her to work at Nkaikela. She is not ashamed of her positive HIV status and previous past as a sex worker. She utilizes her past to communicate and relate to sex workers as she was once in their position. She ultimately wants to make a positive change for these women and help them in whatever capacity that she can.

Elizabeth is originally from Tlokweng and has been at Nkaiekla since 2015. She was prompted to work in this industry as she would constantly see woman ceasing to accept their statuses. As a woman from Tlokweng, she wanted to help her community and help other Tlokweng women know and accept their statuses. She was witnessing members of her community die from HIV and furthermore wants to educate her community on condom use and other preventative measures.

Lesedi is originally from Tonota Village and began working at Nkaikela in 2015. Yet, she started working in the non-profit world in 2010. She has worked at Bonela and Sisonke. She has a vast knowledge of HIV from trainings she has completed. Therefore, she wants to utilize her knowledge and help those unaware of their status and treatment options. She believes her knowledge gives her an inherent advantage with communicating with sex workers. Furthermore, she wants society to stop judging this profession as it is a job. She understands that many sex workers could not find other lines of work and need money to survive. Lesedi emphasizes that the stigma needs to end.

Khumo is originally from Kanye. She has been a peer counselor since 2016. She wanted to work in Nkaikela because she wants to change women’s rights especially in regards to health care. She has many peers who are ashamed and afraid to take ARVs. Furthermore, she wants to rid of the stigma and ensure that every woman is doing what is best for her health. She knows that sex workers often do not want to go to clinics therefore she wants to make sure they have other resources and support to ensure that they get the appropriate health care necessary.

Chedza is originally from Gabane. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2016. Chedza is currently living with HIV therefore wants to help other women who might be living with HIV as well. Chedza believes it is extremely important to know your status and encourages others to get tested. In addition, she works hard to promote condom use. She believes that working at Nkaikela has made her who she is today. Nkaikela has changed her behavior and her life. She now knows how to take care of herself and wants to help other women obtain those same skills.

Hilda is from the Mochudi village. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2016. She has always wanted to help others and teach about HIV. Hilda emphasizes that even if a woman has an HIV positive status, it simply is not the end of their life.

Olebogeng is originally from the Mochudi village. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2016. She has always wanted to help people who do not know their status. Sex work is a difficult profession and she wants to work to get rid of the stigma and discrimination. She wants women to have the necessary tools to improve themselves. In Botswana, sex work is a profession not accepted by the community, yet Olebogeng wants to make sure that sex workers are still given acceptable health care options.

Tuna is originally from Mahalapye village. She has been working at Nkaikela since 2016. Tuna had many friends who refused to get health care services. When she came to Nkaikela, she wanted to make sure she could help her friends and people like her friends get the necessary health care. She encourages taking ARVs. Furthermore she wanted sex workers to have a community and a network of people to talk to who have gone through similar things. She has three children

Onnelile is originally from Tonota Village. She is the newest peer counselor at Nkaikela, having started in October of 2018. She has her undergraduate diploma in social work. Through her diploma she learned how HIV can affect a family dynamic and wanted to pass positive messages about HIV to her peers. In June 2018, she attended a one week workshop with the International Treatment Preparation Coalition where she learned about viral loads, anti-retroviral therapies, and pre-exposure prophalaxis.