battling stigma

The stigma is real, but over time I've learned to love myself, I've started to seek out communities of people living with HIV and I've been relieved to know that I'm no longer alone.

In my home country Burundi there are 13.24 million people of which 2.9% are living with HIV. This means 383,000 people! Many of them still do not have reliable access to HIV treatment and HIV stigma and prejudices are still widespread throughout Burundi.

Esta compilación de historias es solo uno de los esfuerzos de Christie's Place para hacer algo por la falta de visibilidad de las mujeres que viven con el VIH. Nuestro objetivo es fomentar un cambio cultural en las narrativas dañinas que permiten que persista el estigma relacionado con el VIH.

This compilation of stories is just one approach Christie's Place has made toward addressing the visibility of women living with HIV. We aim to encourage a cultural shift in harmful narratives that enable HIV-related stigma to persist.

I believe that by being open about my experience, I can help dismantle the myths and misconceptions about living with HIV. Every life has those pivotal moments, the ones that change everything.

I come here when things are rough. When my head is so full I have to put it on paper. I can't say that I put it all here.

Just as one moment changed the direction of my life, I believe that sharing our stories can create the first link in a chain of understanding, compassion, and acceptance.

Now don't ask me how Lagos happened – it just happened... I had the most positive response from the biking community and that's where I struck gold.

The harsh reality is that there are way too few organisations in our HIV community that are actively promoting PrEP access.

What's the balance in life as a regular human being with needs, wants and desires that just so happens to also be a person living with HIV who simply desires to live a normal non-stigmatized life?