Personal stories from women involved in the Women and Wealth Project

I am Geetha, 30 years of age and living in Otteri village, Chennai District, Tamilnadu India. I attended school only until 4th standard. I got married when I was 21 years old and now I have one daughter, age 8 years studying 3rd standard in an English school. While I was pregnant with my second daughter, I came to know my HIV status as positive at the government hospital. I was regularly attending the ante-natal clinic, but I delivered at 9 months and my baby died within seven days. I was deeply troubled by the death of my second baby, and after that I lived with my mother's family for almost 2 years.

My husband is an auto-ricksaw (3 wheeler) driver, and we have a very meager income to manage our family and health. In 2004, I came to learn about the Positive Women’s Network (PWN+) and started participating the many meetings they organize for women living with HIV and AIDS. I was well informed on HIV management, but my economic and social status was very low, due to the low income of our family.

In 2006, I heard from PWN+ that they were training women living with HIV to make red ribbons as they initiated the business Social Light Communications. I was very glad and joined to make red ribbons. In two months I made Rs. 2000 by making red ribbons, which helped me gain confidence that I too could earn for my family. Until that time, I have never worked but served my husband only as a home maker. In 2007, SLC gave me training on screen printing. Now I have gained skills in red ribbon making and screen printing. Red ribbon making is seasonal and would give me additional income during the months of October to December, but screen printing would sustain my income all throughout the year.

Now I am well respected in my family and neighborhood as my income supports my family expenses in paying rent and my child's school fees. One of the reasons for my work is that I want to educate my children and have them earn a degree so they will be well respected in the community that has discriminated against me. I want to thank PWN+ and Social Light communications for giving us this opportunity to be respected in society and have an income for our families.

I am Muthukani, 28 years old and am living at Kathirvedu village near Chennai in Tamilnadu, India. I am married and have two daughters, ages 5 and 3. I got married in the year 1997 to my husband who is a truck driver by profession. I came to know my HIV-positive status when I was pregnant with my first child in the year 2001. We lived a happy life after my marriage, having our own truck, but soon we lost all our possessions after the birth of my second daughter who was born HIV-positive. I was very depressed very, as my family did not have money even for our daily living.

Later in 2005 at the Government ART (anti-retroviral treatment) center, I was approached by an outreach worker from the Positive Women’s Network (PWN+). I was regularly attending support group meetings and received counseling about taking care of my family's health. In 2006, I heard that PWN+ was initiating Social Light Communications (SLC), a business wing to empower women living with HIV socially and economically.

I was very much interested to join SLC to sustain my family, but my worry was that I only studied until 9th grade in school. But the strong will within me helped me to approach SLC with confidence that I could do any work by learning it quickly. I was worried whether I would be selected out of the ten women who approached SLC, but my communication skills helped me to be selected.

Now I have been trained by Social light communications in screen printing, red ribbon making, and in managing simple accounts. Now I am earning an income through SLC by making red ribbons and printing works. My work has not just brought money but also confidence, self-esteem, and courage to face the future. My income is supporting my family expenses, and I am striving now to earn more to sustain the lives of my two daughters. I am respected by my husband and neighbors because I earn for my family. In the 10 months of working with SLC, I have built my skills and talents and have gained experience in handling small scale businesses. I am happy to work with other women living with HIV in this city. My dream is to earn more and get my daughters to live a healthy and happy life that is not bothered by our HIV status.

I am Phan Srim, 29 years old, married in 1997, and I have one daughter born in 1999. I became aware that I had HIV in 1999. As a Khmer woman, since my childhood until I grew up, I had never gone out far from home alone (stayed calm and gentle), Then I married to my husband. My husband was a journalist at the Cambodia Daily. He was HIV-positive as well and died of an AIDS-related illness in 2000.

I asked myself, what mistakes did I commit in my life or from previous life? Why has my innocence contracted this guilty, lifeless disease? Despite these feelings, I received much love and care from my family, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles/aunts, and in-laws. They assured me that they would look after me because they realized that their son, brother, or nephew transmitted HIV to me. By 2001, I decided to buy ARVs because at that time they were difficult to get.

In 2003 I joined with UNESCO, an HIV awareness group that took photos around the provinces in Cambodia and universities. I also worked with the BBC’s Policy Project. I voluntarily offered my picture to appear in public because I wanted to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and its impacts on the Cambodian people, especially on innocent wives and children. In 2004, I voluntarily worked with an HIV-positive women’s group that sewed purses and bags to sell for substitution living. In 2005, I was selected as team leader of the women’s group, even without earning income, but I still loved to serve the vulnerable group.

In 2006, after having been successful in business with the women’s group, and the group receiving funding, I was about to get a monthly salary when I was lobbied by CCW to voluntarily work for MDSF again. So I worked without income again from June to November 2006. I found myself interested in working with MDSF in order to help positive women to improve their quality of life and understand HIV/AIDS, and to make social change by decreasing discrimination against HIV/AIDS.

Now, since I started working with MDSF, I earn a monthly income. I can receive ARV without any cost. I have increased knowledge, skills and experience in management and can run the business. Even though the business is small, I understand its importance in my life as well as for other HIV-positive women. I realize that some women have left MDSF for their own economic reasons, while other women in the positive network are happy with MDSF. I don’t care to become a part of the business sector; what I do care about is how to make my business, MDSF, break even and grow up to be profitable for the benefit of our female employees. I am strongly committed to MDSF and wish MDSF better in the future. I believe that the national and international communities will turn their eyes towards MDSF and support us by ordering and buying products.

We, the HIV-positive and the HIV-negative, will put our businesses together for a prosperous future, free from social discrimination/stigma, and return with peaceful and economic growth. I believe that other positive groups will learn from MDSF and start their own businesses. I also believe that not only the HIV-negative people can push the national economy to grow well. Both negative and positive people can work together to contribute to economic growth.

I am Or Phakdey, I am 33 years old, married, and have one son. My husband was a soldier. In my family, two of my sisters have HIV/AIDS, and one has died. I also have HIV, and in 1999 when I was working in a garment factory, I was terminated by the factory owner when they found out that I was HIV-positive. At home, my brother-in-law chased me out of the family. So my husband, son, and I became homeless. I was really sad and wanted to die because there was strong discrimination and stigma against being HIV-positive. When I was sent to a hospital in Phnom Penh, nobody cared for me, and when it became known that I was HIV-positive, they chased me out of the hospital. After that, I returned to live in my home village, in Srey Santhor district, Kampong Cham province. Again, my health became weaker, and I was sent to Kampong Cham hospital in 2000 to be treated for an opportunistic infection. In 2005, I was able to receive ARV treatment. At that same time, my family life was also difficult; my father was ill and could not work, and the whole family depended on me.

In 2006, the District Referral Hospital was selected to join the Kampong Cham network of People Living with HIV for an awareness-raising project. I voluntarily joined the network, for which I would show up and introduce myself to the public in order to help other HIV-positive people by reducing discrimination and stigma. I became very active in participating in the meetings, workshops and conferences, and sharing my story to the audiences. I then became motivated to join MDSF, and I feel my life has started again because of MDSF.

I now feel better living. My son can go to school regularly, and my husband has come to live in Phnom Penh, where together we run a motor taxi that we have bought. We are renting and living in a small hut. I have increased my skills and experience in management, English, and computers, which I didn’t have before. I also have a chance to survive and be happy in my life again. I put my greatest expectations in MDSF, as in the last few months I have come to understand that MDSF is a business, and it should be run independently and different from the NGO project. I was confused that I was not a part of a CCW, but now I know that only I and all the HIV-positive women in MDSF are responsible for MDSF. MDSF can only survive when there are products and markets to sell our products.

My name is Douk Thy. I am 30 years old, and I was married in 1994. I have two children - one boy (12 years old), and one girl (7 years old).

My husband, who is a soldier with the government, left me with my in-laws soon after our marriage (after three days) as he had to return to work. He then visited me after 7 or 8 months, and I became pregnant with our first son. I lived alone throughout my pregnancy and delivery. It was very difficult for me to look after my child without anyone’s support. My husband did not return, so I decided to go to his workplace, but my husband did not recognize me. He said that I was not his wife, but he accepted our baby. After some time, he lost his job and came back to me. I was very happy, and we lived together in Battambang. However, it was purely my responsibility to generate income for our family for some time.

My husband then started a business, and we managed to buy a small plot and build a small hut. We lived there happily, and I gave birth to our second child (a girl). But soon after, my husband wanted to divorce me and went to Thailand. I was lonely again. I did not have any job or money to look after my two children. I started to beg with my children, and we ate with Monks.

After 3 months, I heard that my husband had been jailed in Thailand. So I decided to go and live with him in Thailand. During that time, someone told me to have only protected sex with my husband, but he refused to use a condom. After some time my husband became seriously ill, and he then told me about his HIV status. He wanted me to take him back home, as he wanted to die in his homeland.

My husband died in 2000. I felt very sad. Nobody wanted me, and I had no place to stay. So I decided to leave my home and started looking for jobs. I got a job in a garment factory, but I took several leaves for hospital appointments and as a result was terminated from work. I got another job in another factory, where again I took leave and thus lost my job. This continued until I joined MDSF.

I am very happy at MDSF. I earn a stable monthly income, and I also receive ARVs free of cost. MDSF also helped me enhance my skills and my knowledge about HIV. This business is very important to my life and the lives of my colleagues. My children now have started school, and my hope is to give a regular education and good future to my children.

My name is Proum Chan Tola. I am 48 years old, from Phnom Sampov village in Battambang province, Cambodia. I was married in 1976, and I have three children (two girls and one boy). I came to know my HIV status in 1997, shortly after the death of my husband. My husband served as a military commander in the government.

Since receiving my HIV diagnosis, I was dishonored by everyone. I lost all my wealth, house, land, and family. I was discriminated against and stigmatized by my neighbors and other people. With no job, income, or family, I felt lonely and disappointed in my life. I started to take ARVs in 2003 from MSF.

In 2003 I joined Marry Knyole, a garment company based in Cambodia, to sew blankets and earn weekly wages. I decided to stop working with the company when my daughter got married, as I had to support her family. I returned to Phnom Penh in 2007 and looked for employment with MDSF.

I like to work with MDSF. I spend lot of time with other HIV-positive women at MDSF. We talk about HIV/AIDS, support each other, reduce stigma and discrimination, and also improve our quality of life.

Working with MDSF helped me earn a regular and stable income. It also helped me enhance my sewing skills and my knowledge about HIV. I am very happy to work with other women who also have the same problem. MDSF is important to my life as well as the lives of other HIV-positive women. Please support MDSF through orders and purchasing of products. This will help me and my friends to lead a productive life free of stigma and discrimination.