World Outreach Initiatives held an event on the 1st December, which is world AIDS day, to celebrate with the beneficiaries of their Life Clinics.

It’s been 40 years since the first reported HIV cases. For over 15 years, the Life Clinics of GLO’s partner World Outreach Initiatives (WOI) have supported over a thousand people who live with HIV by providing them with Antiretroviral Regimens, also known as ARV.

Daphrosa a mother of four children, is among the WOI beneficiaries. In 2005, Burundian hospitals struggled to detect HIV AIDS, so she and her husband were diagnosed at a later stage. It was only as a result of her first husband’s months of hospitalisation and death from AIDS, that she eventually discovered she also was HIV positive.

For over a year, Daphrosa couldn’t be medicated since the ARV drugs wouldn’t have been effective at a later stage. She lost so much weight, at only forty kilograms, she felt her life was over. Her biggest fear, she said, was to leave her four children orphaned.

For years she faced the prejudice and stigma that comes along with HIV, she fell into depression and isolated herself from people, each day of she lost weight felt closer to death. A friend advised her to visit a different clinic where she might get help. At first, she was hesitant, but for the sake of her children she accepted. This was a Life Clinic, run by WOI.

With the help of the Life Clinic, Daphrosa was provided with antiretroviral regimens (ARVs) and went through different awareness training. The first straining she attended was about self-esteem, it boosted her confidence back.

Living with HIV+ for the past 16 years has taught Daphrosa a lot, she’s now an advocate of people who live with HIV. She has now remarried and is very grateful for her husband’s support, who thankfully remains HIV negative. 

Daphrosa’s story is just one of hope brought through the vital work of World Outreach Initiatives, as the ARV’s they provide give the precious gift of time to those suffering from HIV.