Positive and proud
Positive and proud

Positive and proud

Yanna Smith
Seven young women from Swakopmund living with HIV/Aids disclosed their status to the public on Monday evening when they competed in the first Miss HIV-Positive beauty pageant in Namibia.

Their aim is to stop stigma and discrimination against people living with the disease.

Out of the seven, Shirleen Johannes was crowned Miss HIV-Positive, Madlein Goagoses as First Princess and Ottilie Noongo as Second Princess.

Another woman who only gave her name as Emma ''Big Mama'' won the Miss Personality title.

Accepting her crown, Johannes said her mission is to challenge the HIV stigma.

“I will go out to the community and encourage them to stop the stigma and discriminating us who are living with HIV/Aids,” she said.

She wants people to be confident and feel free to seek medication to live a normal life, like her.

“I do not fear discrimination,” she said when asked about her motto.

Johannes is now the face of a campaign against HIV/Aids and is expected to spread the positive message of living with the deadly disease.

The majority of contestants said they live a happy and normal lives without allowing the disease to ruin that.

Others are determined to achieve the goals they set before knowing they were HIV positive and work with others living with HIV to break barriers they face every day.

These include access to employment, scholarships and life insurance, which on most occasions are not provided for HIV-positive people and if provided, come at a high cost.

The competition was led by Allen van Wyk, who also disclosed her HIV-positive status. She encouraged those in the same situation to live positively.

“It is only when we unite that we can successfully defeat HIV/Aids. If we want a free HIV/Aids nation we need to start fighting now,” Van Wyk told the crowd.

She wants the practice of people going public about their HIV status and encouraging people to live positively to continue.

Organisers plan to host the event again next year and encouraged more people to take part.

Winners did not receive any prizes as there were no sponsors for that.

Miss HIV-Positive is part of the first-ever Namibia HIV/Aids Conference hosted by the Ministry of Health and Social Services from last Monday to Wednesday.

NAMPA

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-19

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Six Nations: France 33 vs 31 England | Ireland 17 vs 13 Scotland | Wales 21 vs 24 Italy Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 0 Manchester City | West Ham 1 vs 1 Aston Villa | Everton 0 vs 0 Liverpool | Fulham 3 vs 0 Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United 0 vs 0 Sheffield United | Luton Town 1 vs 1 Forest | Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 vs 0 Bournemouth | Crystal Palace 0 vs 0 Newcastle | Burnley 2 vs 1 Brentford | Arsenal 0 vs 0 Chelsea LaLiga: Atletico Madrid 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 0 Real Betis | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Almería | Villarreal 1 vs 0 Valencia | Sevilla 1 vs 2 Celta Vigo | Athletic Club 2 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Getafe 1 vs 0 Girona | Osasuna 2 vs 4 Real Madrid | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Granada SerieA: Internazionale 1 vs 1 Napoli | AS Roma 1 vs 0 Sassuolo | Atalanta 0 vs 0 Fiorentina | Hellas Verona 1 vs 3 AC Milan | Juventus 0 vs 0 Genoa | Frosinone 2 vs 3 SS Lazio | Salernitana 0 vs 1 Lecce | Monza 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Udinese 0 vs 2 Torino European Championships Qualifying: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City FA Cup: Manchester United 4 vs 3 Liverpool | Chelsea 4 vs 2 Leicester City | Manchester City 2 vs 0 Newcastle United | Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 vs 3 Coventry City English Championship: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City Katima Mulilo: 18° | 37° Rundu: 20° | 38° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 23° | 35° Ruacana: 21° | 36° Tsumeb: 21° | 37° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 35° Omaruru: 20° | 37° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Gobabis: 19° | 36° Henties Bay: 19° | 24° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 06:31, High tide: 12:45, Low Tide: 18:51, High tide: 01:21 Swakopmund: 17° | 19° Wind speed: 16km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:43, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:19 Walvis Bay: 18° | 26° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:42, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:18 Rehoboth: 18° | 35° Mariental: 24° | 37° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 37° Aranos: 24° | 37° Lüderitz: 24° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 27° | 38° Oranjemund: 17° | 29° Luanda: 27° | 29° Gaborone: 23° | 37° Lubumbashi: 16° | 26° Mbabane: 18° | 22° Maseru: 15° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 25° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 23° | 27° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Cape Town: 20° | 27° Durban: 22° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 32° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 28° Harare: 15° | 32° Currency: GBP to NAD 24.03 | EUR to NAD 20.58 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 18.97 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.34 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.73 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.76 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.33 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.06 | USD to KES 132.98 | USD to NGN 1572.01 | USD to ZAR 18.98 | USD to ZMW 25.67 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 72430.44 Down -0.77% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1504.69 Down -0.83% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13085.63 Up +0.17% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29091.29 Down -6.34% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9055.2 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 155.39/OZ DOWN -0.0031 | Copper US$ 4.06/lb DOWN -0.0115 | Zinc US$ 2 502.90/T DOWN -1.44% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.04/BBP DOWN -0.0001 | Platinum US$ 901.23/OZ DOWN -0.0166 Sport results: Six Nations: France 33 vs 31 England | Ireland 17 vs 13 Scotland | Wales 21 vs 24 Italy Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 0 Manchester City | West Ham 1 vs 1 Aston Villa | Everton 0 vs 0 Liverpool | Fulham 3 vs 0 Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United 0 vs 0 Sheffield United | Luton Town 1 vs 1 Forest | Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 vs 0 Bournemouth | Crystal Palace 0 vs 0 Newcastle | Burnley 2 vs 1 Brentford | Arsenal 0 vs 0 Chelsea LaLiga: Atletico Madrid 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 0 Real Betis | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Almería | Villarreal 1 vs 0 Valencia | Sevilla 1 vs 2 Celta Vigo | Athletic Club 2 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Getafe 1 vs 0 Girona | Osasuna 2 vs 4 Real Madrid | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Granada SerieA: Internazionale 1 vs 1 Napoli | AS Roma 1 vs 0 Sassuolo | Atalanta 0 vs 0 Fiorentina | Hellas Verona 1 vs 3 AC Milan | Juventus 0 vs 0 Genoa | Frosinone 2 vs 3 SS Lazio | Salernitana 0 vs 1 Lecce | Monza 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Udinese 0 vs 2 Torino European Championships Qualifying: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City FA Cup: Manchester United 4 vs 3 Liverpool | Chelsea 4 vs 2 Leicester City | Manchester City 2 vs 0 Newcastle United | Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 vs 3 Coventry City English Championship: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 37° Rundu: 20° | 38° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 23° | 35° Ruacana: 21° | 36° Tsumeb: 21° | 37° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 35° Omaruru: 20° | 37° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Gobabis: 19° | 36° Henties Bay: 19° | 24° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 06:31, High tide: 12:45, Low Tide: 18:51, High tide: 01:21 Swakopmund: 17° | 19° Wind speed: 16km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:43, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:19 Walvis Bay: 18° | 26° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:42, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:18 Rehoboth: 18° | 35° Mariental: 24° | 37° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 37° Aranos: 24° | 37° Lüderitz: 24° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 27° | 38° Oranjemund: 17° | 29° Luanda: 27° | 29° Gaborone: 23° | 37° Lubumbashi: 16° | 26° Mbabane: 18° | 22° Maseru: 15° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 25° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 23° | 27° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Cape Town: 20° | 27° Durban: 22° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 32° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 28° Harare: 15° | 32° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 24.03 | EUR to NAD 20.58 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 18.97 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.34 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.73 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.76 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.33 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.06 | USD to KES 132.98 | USD to NGN 1572.01 | USD to ZAR 18.98 | USD to ZMW 25.67 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 72430.44 Down -0.77% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1504.69 Down -0.83% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13085.63 Up +0.17% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29091.29 Down -6.34% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9055.2 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 155.39/OZ DOWN -0.0031 | Copper US$ 4.06/lb DOWN -0.0115 | Zinc US$ 2 502.90/T DOWN -1.44% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.04/BBP DOWN -0.0001 | Platinum US$ 901.23/OZ DOWN -0.0166