When she was just 15 years old, Abaynesh was entered into an arranged marriage with a man she had never met. They soon had a daughter and before long she began to suspect her husband was cheating on her. She traveled to nearby Dessie to take an HIV test and was told that she was positive for the virus.
A year after her life-altering diagnosis, Abaynesh joined Hiwot Fana (“Light of Life”) which was organized to educate Ethiopians about HIV and AIDS.
Hiwot Fana applied for support from the ORDA HIV/AIDS prevention program and, impressed with the organization, ORDA gave the group 6 horses and 3 horse carts to start a transportation business. We also built a three-room office for their business, gave them assistance to start a vegetable garden and donated bee hives for honey to sell.
“I, myself, have given the lecture to as many as 80 people at a time” said Abaynesh. “In our country, HIV is associated with skinny people. During one session, the project officer asked the audience if they thought he or I had HIV. The project officer is skinny, and I am not. The audience all pointed to him. It’s good to be able to show people that you can’t always see the virus in people.”
The support she gets from Hiwot Fana and ORDA encourages Abaynesh to continue educating others. “If I wanted to hide my disease, I could,” she added. “People don’t suspect me as being HIV positive. But I don’t want to deceive people. If my husband had been honest and told me he had cheated, I would have been safe.”
Abaynesh is now 27 years old and a single mother to her 12 year old daughter. Her husband died 5 years ago.