battling stigma

This moment calls to us to affirm our commitment to you and this work, based on our core values.

This world won't stop spinning just for me and my broken heart, meetings will still take place, conferences will still convene, and the community still needs an advocate to be their voice. If not me, then who?

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.

Creo que al hablar abiertamente de mi experiencia, puedo ayudar a desmantelar los mitos y los conceptos erróneos sobre vivir con VIH. Cada vida tiene esos momentos cruciales, esos que lo cambian todo.

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.