Women of the World

Phoebe

Living in rural Kenya, Phoebe and her husband had nine children. After her husband left them, Phoebe made the difficult decision to move everyone to Nairobi, where she hoped to find employment to support her family. But once she arrived in the capital city, she soon realized that she and her children must live in the informal settlement of Kibera. This is where they have stayed for the past eight years.

Phoebe

Soon after moving to Kibera, Phoebe began a relationship with a man who started showing signs of an illness that she knew could possibly be AIDS. Although it terrified her, she went to a clinic and had a test. The test confirmed that she was HIV+. She had a very difficult time accepting her status but started sneaking into seminars for HIV education. Knowing that acceptance was her only option for survival, she told her children.

First, she went to a local medicine man whom she thought could cure her. He suggested she drink urine every morning with herbs. After ten of the other women seeking help from the same medicine man passed away, Phoebe realized she needed to let go of the fear and empower herself with as much knowledge and tools as she could. Through the right medication and counseling, she has become strong and is sharing her knowledge with as many people as she can to help stop the ignorance about HIV and AIDS.

As a member of one of the savings and loans groups in Pangea's Kibera Women's Project, Phoebe learned bead work and has said that she has much more support now with the new opportunities and bonds of friendship she has formed with the other women. She has been trained in home-based care and today, spends time volunteering to help other women who are suffering from AIDS.