Mkhize brothers changing HIV death sentence perception

The brothers, aged 31, are working on a programme that will teach family, friends and co-workers how to receive the disclosure by someone that they are HIV positive.

Kuthula and Ntokozo Mkhize are physically identical in every way. Except that one of them is living with HIV.

Kuthula was 24 when he found out that he was HIV positive.

"My girlfriend at the time and I decided to get tested. She was negative and I was positive," he said.

He was fortunate to have the support of his family, who treated his disclosure with love and acceptance.

And beside him through his journey has been his brother.

Ntokozo said his twin had gone on a "Google" journey to find his way.

"I would travel anywhere in South Africa to have lunch or coffee with someone who was living with HIV and ask them how they were doing it," said Kuthula.

In 2011, two years after Kuthula' s life-changing diagnosis, the Mkhize brothers launched a nonprofit organisation called Good Stories.

HIV in SA: a tale of hope and despair

The organisation curates stories of people living positive lives with HIV.

Said Ntokozo: "It started as sharing good stories and now people even come to us for counselling."

The brothers, who hail from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, have a WhatsApp group with a steady stream of people seeking advice on medication and how to let their families know their HIV status.

They want to change the perception that living with HIV is a death sentence.

"Look at me, I look healthy. You can't tell between my brother and I which one of us is positive," said Kuthula.

"People expect you to be underweight and sickly. That needs to change," he said.

After Kuthula tested positive, the relationship with his HIV-negative girlfriend continued for two years. Now, he's happily married to an HIV-negative woman.

"When I tested positive, I thought my life was over. I did not think being married was a possibility. But after a year of living with HIV, I was fine, I made peace with it," he said.

The brothers, aged 31, are working on a programme that will teach family, friends and co-workers how to receive the disclosure by someone that they are HIV positive.

He said the vaccine trial announced this week was a wonderful new step but didn't make a difference to him.

"I'm OK, I'm happy and living with HIV. I'm managing it. Of course a cure would be the cherry on the top, but that could take years," he said .