If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

If I kept it to myself
Introduction
Kanjoo Mbaindjikua, Project Coordinator
Statistics clearly show that young women and girls are highly affected by the AIDS pandemic. While
the situation is serious, young women are by no means idly hoping for better days. At the YWCA,
we are seeing another type of response. This response is unique and challenging, and gives the
word courage a new, humbling meaning as we see young women treading upon grounds that many
only dream or dare talk about. Young women are the drivers and implementers of policies and
programmes, which are reaching out and touching lives and communities.
The World YWCA has documented these inspiring stories to highlight how young women are working
to alleviate the suffering caused by HIV and AIDS. However, this is not just story telling but a tool for
empowerment. We want other young people, and the not so young, to benefit from lessons learnt by
these courageous young activists. Whatever your background, age and social environment, you will be
inspired to take action.
In the pages that follow, you will meet young women from all over the world, who have shaken their
communities as peer counsellors and educators, as care givers, and as people living openly with
HIV and AIDS; giving hope to many and promoting a humanistic response to the pandemic. Other
young women are simply using their professional skills to create tools and platforms for dialogue and
empowerment.
From Bolivia to Zambia, “If I kept it to myself” is inspired by the work that has been documented in
this book. “It is our task to seek safety for our children not in quiet denial but in effective action. We
must break this silence now to save our children, our nation and the world at large,” to quote Asunta
Wagura, one of the pioneers recognised in this book. If these women remained silent and did nothing,
many of us would not be here today. We would not be inspired to take action or admit that HIV and
AIDS is something we can talk about and do something about.
With our focus on young women, we are not seeking to limit leadership only to the young but rather
to document the different ways in which leadership is being provided by those who are most affected.
From our experiences as one of the oldest and largest women’s organisations in the world, we are
bringing a non-traditional profile of leadership that comes from the heart of the community and takes
many forms.
In this book, leadership can be found in small gestures such as approaching national leaders to join
activities to recognise HIV and AIDS work in communities and to destigmatise the disease. It can also
be found in caring for a loved one, reuniting estranged families and burying friends who die of AIDS
with dignity and respect. Leadership is also about spreading messages of prevention, care, support
and respect for the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as women and children. The list
is endless but the goal is one: to alleviate the suffering and bring an end to the shame and guilt that
comes with living with HIV and AIDS.
The stories are clustered according to themes, which are followed by tool boxes on what each one of
us can do to bring about change in our own community. We encourage you to share this publication
with your colleagues, your family and your friends. Let it be a book that you can read to your children
to start a discussion and be a reference on how to engage in HIV and AIDS activities. “If I kept it to
myself» is an important history of the courageous steps and hard work of young women intervening in
a world with HIV and AIDS. It should motivate us all to action.
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