My Personal Story

Two years ago I was dying from AIDS. My story starts here...

In my impoverished Kenyan town, news travels through word of mouth. After I heard about a new interactive community website for women that could possibly help my mission of caring for women with HIV, I decided to make the long trek to the local internet café - often dodging bullets in post-conflict Kenya- to share my story.

Joining PulseWire changed my life forever. I immediately connected with AIDS leaders around the world and, with their help, was able to plan income-generating activities
that expanded my AIDS work and training to 16 other HIV+ women and nurses in my community.

I became a close friend of well-known AIDS activist Anne-christine d’Adesky. She brought a donated laptop to Migori, and with that newly-gifted computer, I became a local correspondent, using PulseWire to report on the voices and needs of my community.

As one of the founding community members, I started a close rapport with the PulseWire team. In May 2007, I was brought on as World Pulse’s first-ever grassroots Correspondent and Africa Outreach Specialist, with a focus on training women impacted by HIV and AIDS in social networking and new media.

That moment was a launching point for me, personally and professionally. In August 2008 I attended the 2008 AIDS Conference in Mexico City, where I presented an abstract, “HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict Kenya.” I also ran the World Pulse Media Lab in the Women’s Networking Zone with Jennifer Ruwart and her boys. We registered over 75 women and men on PulseWire. Then, in December I had a dream come true. I met World Pulse founder, Jensine Larsen, at the biannual AWID Conference in South Africa, where we taught another 120 women to use PulseWire to tell their stories in their own words and connect with women from around the world.

This year has just started and already I have completed training as an AIDS Peer Counsellor. In April I am flying to Canada to attend another conference on HIV and AIDS. Rumor has it that the World Pulse team is taking the train to meet me!

Two years ago I was dying from AIDS. Today, I am alive and thriving. PulseWire has created hope that I cannot describe. I have so many dreams, and now, I’m going to do them all!