By Esther Opade
ROM uses peer supporters to speak to youth living with HIV. This is to ensure the youth achieve viral suppression to reduce the probability of infecting others as well as increase the length and quality of their own life. Through our engagements, ROM carries out peer support workshops that bring together the adolescents, their Community ART and TB Treatment Supporters (CATTs), and peers for encouragement and provide them with an opportunity to learn more about positive living. These have been beneficial to the peer supporters given that they are able to acquire leadership skills and capacity building as they combat the negative effects of self-stigma and peer pressure.
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, Gloria Nawanyage, a peer educator, and former miss Y+ visited ROM surprising the adolescents and young people at the workshop. The adolescents got an opportunity to hear from the beauty queen who shared her life story.
She shared about how she overcame both self-stigma and external stigma right from childhood and she encouraged them to be proud of themselves for a happy and positive life.
Gloria advised the adolescents to always manage their treatment by following the 3Rs which include; have treatment at the right time, take drugs in the right place, have the right prescription of the drugs.
The educative and interactive session gave the adolescents an opportunity to ask questions and also shared their own life personal experiences.
With the passion Gloria has to educate young people living with HIV about positive living, she has managed to go places meeting many adolescents with the same health challenge. She is determined to help them all through her role as a peer educator.
ROM is committed to serve adolescents and young people living with HIV to ensure that they have improved adherence, viral suppression, retention, and psychosocial wellbeing for a happy productive life.
