Okalongo – Tse na Marry in Omuthitugwonyama, Okalongo Constituency, in Omusati Region, with a female-dominated membership, is one of the oldest group in the history of support groups of people living with HIV in Namibia. The support group started with less than 5 women living with HIV in 2005, who were experiencing stigma and discrimination as a result of their health condition then. Today they are more than 40 members and still, the majority are women. Tse Na Marry Support Group Members distributing ARVs among themselves Nelly Maria (not her real name), a strong looking woman, is the founder and current chairperson of the support group. The name Tse na Mary (We and Maria) is linked to a Catholic’s saint, holy Maria, according to the bible, the mother of Jesus. “Our prime purpose to establish this support group is to motivate each other to accept our health conditions,” she says. Around 2005, many people did not have sufficient information about HIV, it was a new th
“WITH CBART, NO MORE EXCUSE TO IGNORE THE TREATMENT – TSE NA MARY SUPPORT GROUP”