Mary graduated from the CARE for AIDS center in Kongowea in 2017. Before joining the program, Mary always felt stressed. She’s a single mom and one of her children is the orphan of her late sister. Because she is HIV-positive, Mary always lived in fear that she too might die soon and leave both of her girls as orphans. Through the program, she has found emotional and financial freedom. She has learned skills that allow her to sell products in the market and she no longer struggles to make ends meet.
Mary’s biological daughter is 10 years old and is also HIV-positive. Before being in the program, Mary had not told her daughter about her HIV status and had a hard time getting her to take her medicine each day. Through the CARE for AIDS seminars and counseling, Mary learned how to have a conversation with her daughter about her HIV status. Her daughter is now happy and eager to take her medicine every day at the same time as her mom.
Mary feels like a new woman because of the program- she has new friends, new work, new hope, and best of all, no time to be stressed!