In honor of our new PRODUCT(RED) Heart of Strength Charm Bangle supporting the Global Fund to fight AIDS with (RED)®, we’re honored to welcome Constance Mudenda, a mother living with HIV, with a message of hope for future generations.
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My name is Constance Mudenda and I live in Zambia, a country which, over the last two decades, has lost far too many of its people to AIDS – including my three eldest children.
When I was diagnosed with HIV in 2004, there was so little information available. Like me, a lot of people didn’t understand the virus and how getting tested could save our lives. People were very sick and dying because of the lack of understanding of the virus, and they couldn’t access facilities or afford treatment due to high unemployment levels. Thankfully today there is lot of information available and it’s quiet rare to find someone coming to the clinic very sick because of HIV. People who are HIV positive are aware of their status and they are accessing the lifesaving pills they need to lead normal lives uninterrupted by the illness.
Feature image and above image courtesy of Neon Stian, Inc.
For the past twelve years, I have been taking my ARV pills, and I am alive and healthy! In November 2012, I gave birth to my youngest child; my beautiful daughter named Lubona. Because I was on treatment throughout my pregnancy, the miracle happened, and Lubona was born HIV-free. She is living proof that ending AIDS is achievable.
I am sitting here, writing this because I want to encourage people to support (RED) and the work they do to fight AIDS. Every time someone buys a (RED) product, like the PRODUCT(RED) Heart of Strength Charm Bangle, money is raised to help provide more of the life-saving medication that changed my life. It is my wish that every mother living with HIV can access treatment, and that no baby ever be born with HIV.
With the life changing medication, I and other mothers will have an opportunity to see our children grow, with us, alive and able to provide the love and care that every child deserves.
Written by Constance Mudenda