The Women and Wealth Project

Personal stories from women involved in the Women and Wealth Project

I am Geetha aged 30 years old living at Otteri village in Chennai District, Tamilnadu India. I studied only till 4th standard. I got married when I was 21 years old and now I have only one daughter aged 8 years studying 3rd standard in English school. While I was pregnant for my second daughter I came to know my HIV status at government hospital. I was regularly attending the ante-natal clinic but I got 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 very meager money to manage our family and health. In 2004, I came to know about Positive Women Network (PWN+) and started participating in 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 low income of our family.

In 2006, I heard from PWN+ that they are training women living with HIV to make red ribbons as they initiated Social Light Communications, I was very glad and joined them to make red ribbons. In two months I made Rs. 2000 by making red ribbons, which helped me gain confidence that I too can 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 but would give me additional income during the months of October to December but Screen printing would sustain my income all through out the year.

Now I am well respected in my family and neighborhood as my income is supporting my family expenses in paying rent and my child's school fees. One of the reasons for my work is I want to educate my child to earn degree and be well respected in the community that has discriminated me. I want to thank PWN+ and Sociallight communications for giving us this opportunity to be respected in society and have income for my family.

I am Muthukani, 28 years old living at Kathirvedu village near Chennai in Tamilnadu, India. I am married and have two daughters aged 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 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 is born as HIV positive. I was very much depressed as my family did not have money even for our daily living.

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

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

I am now trained by Social light communications in Screen Printing, Red Ribbon making and in managing simple accounts. Now I am earning through SLC by making red ribbons and printing works. My work has not just brought money, but confidence, self-esteem, 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 this 10 months of working with SLC, I have built my skills, talents and gained experience in handling small scale businesses. I am happy to work with other women living with HIV in this city and my dream is to earn more and get my daughters live a healthy and happy life not bothering about our HIV status.

I am Phan Srim, 29 years old married in 1997 and have one daughter born in 1999. I was aware I have HIV in 1999. Don’t you know as Khmer woman I had never gone out far from home alone (stayed calm and gentle) since my childhood until I grown up, then just married to my husband. My husband was a journalist in the Cambodia Daily. So he was died of HIV/AIDS in 2000.

I asked myself what did I commit any mistakes in my life or from the afore-generation, why my innocence turned me into this guilty lifeless disease? However, I receive much love and care from my family ? Mother, brothers, sisters and uncles/aunts in law. They assure to look after me because they realized that their son, brother, nephew did this guilty transmitted HIV to me. By 2001 I decided to buy ARV, because at that time there was difficult to get.

In 2003 I joined with UNESCO on HIV Awareness with short spots drama around the provinces in Cambodia and universities. Other spots snapped by BBC, Policy Project I voluntarily accepted my picture to be appear on public because I wanted to make known about HIV/AIDS and its impacts over the Cambodian people, especially innocent wives and children. In 2004 I was voluntarily working with the women group of HIV positive sewing purse and bags to sell for substitute living. In 2005 I was selected as team leader of the Women Group, even without income, but I still loved to serve the vulnerable group.

In 2006 after been successfully business with the women group, and the group has been funded and I was about to get some monthly salary, but not yet, just I was lobbied by CCW to, again voluntarily work for MDSF. So I worked without income again from June to November 2006. I found my self interesting in working in MDSF as part of helping those positive women to improve live quality and understand about HIV/AIDS, and to make social change in decreasing discrimination on HIV/AIDS.

Now I can receive ARV without any cost. As I was voluntarily with the Women Group, I had no income. But since I started working with MDSF I can have my monthly income.

I have increased knowledge, skills and experiences on management and run the business, even small, but I understand how the business important to my life as well as 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 to become a business sector I do not care, what I do care is how to make my business ? MDSF break even and grow up to profitability for the benefit of our women employees. I strongly commit to MDSF and wish MDSF better in the future, and I believe that the National International Communities will turn their eyes into MDSF and support through order and buy products.

We, the positive and the negative will deal our business together for our future prosperity with free society discrimination/stigma, and return with peaceful and economic growth. I believe that other positive group will learn from MDSF and start up their business. I also only the negative people alone cannot push the national economy grow well. So both, negative and positive people go together to contribute our incomes as contribute to economic growth.

I am Or Phakdey, 33 years old married and has one boy. My husband was a soldier. In my family, there are two other sisters who were HIV/AIDS one of whom was died. I have HIV in 1999 while I was working in the garment factory, then I was terminated by the factory owner, when they know that I am HIV positive from work, while at home my brother in law chased me out of the family. So my husband, son and I become homeless. I was really sad and wanted to die because there was strong discrimination and stigma. When I was sent to hospital in Phnom Penh, no body care of me, and when I have been known as 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 has become weaker, and I was then sent to Kampong Cham hospital in 2000 to treated Opportunistic Infection. In 2005 I could receive ARV. At the same time my family life was so difficult: my father was ill could not work and the whole family depended on me.

In 2006 District Referral Hospital selected to join the Kampong Cham network of People Living with HIV. I voluntarily joined the network as I understood I have to show up and introduce in public in order to help other HIV people reducing discrimination and stigma. I was so active participating in the meeting, workshop and conference sharing my story to the audiences. I was then motivated to join MDSF, so I feel my life is happened again because of MDSF.

I am now feeling better in living while my son can go to school regularly, my husband also come to live in Phnom Penh together where he run a motor taxi we bought. We are renting and living in a small hut. I increased skills/experiences in management, English, and computer which were not before. I have chance to survive and happy in my life again. I only put on my last expectation on MDSF as I have just understood during few months since June 2007 that this MDSF is a business, and the business should be run independently and different from the project. I was confused that I am supported by CCW. But now I know, only myself and all positive women in MDSF who know well about MDSF rather than others, and only MDSF can survive when there are products and there are markets to sell our products.

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

My husband, 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 7-8 months. But I lived alone throughout my pregnancy and delivery. It was very difficult for me to look after my child without any one’s support. My husband also 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. But it was purely my responsibility to generate income for our family for some time.

My husband then started some 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 (girl). But my husband wanted to divorce me and he 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 was jailed in Thailand. So I decided to go and live with him in Thailand. During that time someone told me to have protected sex with my husband. But he refused to use condoms. After some time my husband became seriously ill. 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 my hospital appointment and because of that I was terminated from work. I got job in some other factory. There again I took leave and due to which I lost my job. This continued until I joined MDSF.

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

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

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

In 2003 I joined Marry Knyole, a garment company based in Cambodia to sew blankets with weekly wages. But 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 looking for employment with MDSF.

I like to work with MDSF. I spend lot of time with other HIV positive women at MDSF to talk about HIV/AIDS, support each other, reduce stigma and discrimination and also to improve the 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 purchase of products. This will help me and my friends to lead a productive life free of stigma and discrimination.