(RED) loves meeting up with old friends and last month in Kigali was no exception when we visited Rose again. She is looking terrific and thanks to the antiretroviral therapy she has been taking for around six years, Rose is strong and healthy and a leader in her community.

Rose was featured in our blog back in 2007 (read it here) and we re-cap, and update, some of her story here…

Rose learned she was HIV-positive in 1997 and had to deal with her husband dying of AIDS that same year. She was left to raise their three children on her own and life was extremely hard – a matter of survival in fact.

Shortly after selling her car and parcel of land to maintain her family and buy the antiretroviral medicine* she needed to stay alive, Rose ran out of money. A civil servant in Kigali she was then forced to leave her job as she became too weak and too ill to work. Rose even thought of suicide.

This was all prior to 2004 when antiretroviral therapy became available free of charge to people living in Rwanda. Now, the Global Fund and (RED) help finance the purchase of this vital medicine there and tens of thousands of people in Rwanda are able to access the medicine they need as a direct result.

Five years later and Rose is doing great! She is a leader in her community representing and protecting the interests of HIV-positive people who are less fortunate or informed than she is. She also counsels people living with HIV.

Rose is curious about the world and would have loved the opportunity to attend university. Her favorite book is Nelson Mandela’s biography because she finds his perseverance and strength so inspiring.

Knowing the difficult times Rose has been through herself, it seems she too has an abundance of strength and perseverance.

*Antiretroviral medicine disrupt the action of HIV - it stops or interfere with the reproduction of virus in the body. The immune cells are then able to live longer and provide the body with protection.