The hardest war ever fought is against self. That's all in the book. If it wasn't for AIDS, where would I be?
Stigma Warrior Princess's blog
Once upon a time, I thought and felt crazy to use the word "coming out of the closet.” Yes, I did all I could do to come out of shame, lies, agony, despair, and beat stigma caused by living with HIV for many years. In actual fact I felt cured way before the miracle. But little did I know I am not immune to other cancerous diseases. As an activist I found myself booted out of the NZ HIV campaign due to being black and a woman. Mostly being bold and being recognised as part of the international HIV advocacy is what got me targeted. Our NZ government depend on tourism so they declared the end of...
Is there something about me that suggests that I am a peacock? Definitely, even then you could not miss that I was brought up to be a proud woman.
I am talking directly to you advocates, bloggers, and activists. Have you honestly let yourself know you are number one in all this. If you have, how are you doing? Is the fatigue of your compassionate heart catching up on you?
I grieve publicly because I am too old to do it alone. Then again It could be just me...
I am A Positive Woman: Till there is a cure I will always be...
My Name Is Sophie Jayawardene and this is my story.
It's great to be here. I been thinking there is so much to share. Instead today I want to share what I have been chasing. And what I have been chasing is we all have the tools in us all as Positive Girls. I have been chasing a dream to become an international motivational speaker. A speaker who will make a difference in others’ lives. A few months ago I joined Toastmaster in my area. The best thing I ever did. On my first day to speak, namely an “icebreaker speech,” I spoke about living with HIV in a room full of people I never knew prior to this. I have no idea if they had ever met anyone who...
Life is a home work and I have a diary to prove it. Welcome to the Age of Diaries. The biggest talk at the AIDS Conference 2016 is working towards building young leaders. Building young leaders could not have been possible if I did not engage in making me the leader of myself. So lost then with the Stigma of the virus I lived with, I had a lot of Life home work to do. Building young leaders is something I had long been working towards. It began by the need to changing attitudes. The attitude that let me down. Attitude to my wellbeing, strength and resilience. So I came to learn that "Life is...
My name is Sophie Mubvumbi Jayawardene. Many People call me Stigma Warrior Princess. Please feel free to call me this or Sophie Jayawardene. I was diagnosed in 1989. At the time I was happily married, six months pregnant expecting twins, and had two children under the age of 8. There was no medicine and I was going to die. The law makers arranged for the babies to be terminated and I was left alone to figure out how I should survive. Knowing that I had only five years to live, I forget all what other people live for and focus on my two children. These were the darkest days where silence ruled...