HIV had kept me locked in fear for over a decade, constantly worrying about stigma and judgement. But I reminded myself of everything I had learned through yoga, meditation, and mindfulness: Stay present.
In the hustle and bustle of life, taking time off to rest and recuperate often feels like an afterthought. Recently, I decided to step away from my daily routine and allow myself some much-needed downtime.
Last year when visiting my HIV allies in South Korea I realized that HIV stigma is still very high in South Korea, so even today you will hardly see people open about HIV.
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?
HIV was transmitted to me by my mother at birth. I cannot explain to you how my transmission took place because I myself have no idea.
HAND — What is it? And why should you care? Well, it effects over 50% of our population (HIV+ peeps). It stands for HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder. Sounds rather daunting doesn't it?
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.
Whatever the individual reasons, many people's mental health suffers during the holidays. We offer this collection of resources as a holiday gift to our beloved community.
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.