“I was a bit scared about this. On my way home, I [decided] to disclose my status to my mum. She supported me and told me that her love for me will never change no matter the circumstances. Her support gave my courage to tell my husband as well. So I disclosed to my husband and he too accepted me, and they have given me so much support up until now.”
Liako Serobanyane
When Liako tested positive in 2007, she didn’t know much about HIV. It was not discussed in her community—nobody wanted to disclose their status in fear of discrimination. People were dying in silence. Still, she took her medication religiously and her baby was born HIV-negative. Three years later she learned about m2m, and was hired as a Mentor Mother. Talking freely about her status was scary at first, but she soon realised that she could give support and hope to women who would otherwise be living in fear. She now works with entire families as a Community Mentor Mother, linking them to medical care and making sure that everyone remains healthy.
“I’ve taken my experience of losing my child to educate my clients on the importance of keeping their children healthy. You see a change in them when you tell them ‘I lost my child from pneumonia.’ I have dedicated my life to this work because I know that having an HIV-free generation is possible.”
Wilbroda Awour Akuro
Wilbroda’s journey to m2m started with her HIV diagnosis in 2015. Convinced that her positive status would be a death sentence for her and her child, she considered having an abortion. Luckily, she soon met with an m2m Mentor Mother who helped her understand that her baby could be born negative, and with the right medication she could live a long and healthy life. The hardest part was disclosing her status to her family. They isolated her and her self-esteem was reduced to zero. But that changed when she was employed by m2m as a Community Mentor Mother. She used what she learned to educate her family about HIV—and they started treating her like a human being again.
“The magic in our model is that our services are delivered by peers, people like myself, who understand exactly the sort of challenges, economic, social, and cultural that women go through in their communities.”
Nozi
A former mentor-mother and current m2m Communications Associate, Nozi speaks about how m2m is empowering HIV-positive women as community health workers and helping to change attitudes towards HIV across sub-Saharan Africa. We have a whole sisterhood of wonder women who are helping us achieve this and Nazi is one of them!
“When I was working at the hospital, I found another woman who was crying. Just because she was HIV-positive, she was thinking that she would pass the virus to the baby. I took her and taught her what mothers2mothers taught me. She saved her baby from getting the virus—and now that woman is also a Mentor Mother at the hospital.”
Violet Mbewe
After Violet gave birth, she was frustrated and frightened by the limited information she was getting from her support group on how to prevent HIV transmission to her baby. When her baby was seven-months-old, she heard that m2m was hiring in her area and decided to apply for a job in the hopes of getting more information. As she learned more about HIV during the Mentor Mother training, she became increasingly worried she had infected her baby. Fortunately, her baby’s test came back negative. Violet now runs one of m2m’s highest volume Sites in Malawi.
“If I hadn’t gotten the education and support from mothers2mothers, I could have been long dead. My greatest joy is educating other mothers, helping them get the treatment to keep themselves healthy and preventing HIV transmission to their babies, and breaking the stigma of living with HIV. It is true you are HIV-positive, but remember you are still a human being, you can do everything. I am a testimony. I did it.”
Khanyisile Mavimbela
Khanyisile first came to m2m when she was five months pregnant, had just tested positive for HIV, and thought death was only a few months away. At the m2m site, she was surprised to meet healthy mothers who were also positive and learn that she could protect her baby from infection. Khanyisile decided apply for a job at m2m in order to fight stigma against people living with HIV and be a role model to other mothers. She has run an m2m site in a rural area of Eswatini since 2008 and has two HIV-negative daughters.
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