Free to Live

Sabina* lost her desire to live when she found out she was HIV+ - she thought her life was over. But thanks to one of our projects in Central Asia, she is learning to live again

Sabina was given little support from the doctor who diagnosed her; in fact, he told her that she only had six years to live. In some parts of Central Asia, a diagnosis of HIV is still seen as a death sentence and little is known about how the right treatment can prolong life.

So Sabina, a mother of two, was left feeling desperate and very depressed.

Overwhelmed with fear

Her life had lurched from one struggle to the next; she left home when she was very young with little education and no way of making a living. She got into a relationship with a man who was in and out of prison. Each time he went back to jail she promised she wouldn’t take him back, but each time she felt overwhelmed with fear; her partner was aggressive and demanded that any money she earned should be given to him.

She was struggling with her health, struggling to make ends meet and worrying about the future. She didn’t know where to turn. She feared for her two daughters, and began making plans for her eldest daughter to get married, even though she was still quite young.

Learning to cook

Then a friend told her about one of our projects – Dorcas Kitchen, which provides training and helps develop women’s self-respect. Women learn cooking, food handling and budgeting.

Sabina loved attending Dorcas Kitchen – it was the one high point in her week. As she slowly began to grow in confidence, her new friends at the project, and the team leader, encouraged Sabina to seek medical attention. At this point she hadn’t seen a doctor for two years – not since she was told she didn’t have long to live.

Getting her life back

The team at Dorcas Kitchen put Sabina in touch with an organization that provides HIV+ people with advice and support. She was incredibly relieved and overwhelmed to learn that she could live a long and healthy life now that she was receiving good medical care.  

Sabina told her friends at Doracs Kitchen: “I am not going to die with this infection. If I take good care of myself and get the medical care I need, I can live a long life.”

Dorcas Kitchen is doing an amazing job of changing the lives of vulnerable women like Sabina – bringing them to a place of greater hope and freedom.

But none of this would be possible without your support!

$150 sets one woman or child on the path to freedom but any gift you give will make a difference.

*Name changed to protect identity