I am beginning the first phase of my Bold Idea For Empowering Women 2009 by myself! Being a woman,i will empower myself.I am going to train as a counselor for HIV/AIDS.

Being a trained counselor,and HIV positive too,i will reach out to women and children in my community,and all over the world.I will work with both the infected and affected in a combined effort to curb the following:

Poverty and stigma
and also to create:
Affordable internet access for women to share their voices,and for use as a Resource Center.

We will strongly and jointly hold forums in our Women's Networking Zone (HIV/AIDS),along with the already present group members.Here we shall tell our stories and visions to the world,by blogging and using video and pictures,with the major aims of uprooting stigma and supporting each other in eradication of poverty through identifying viable projects and championing on them,and using our income generating businesses as an opportunity for one-on-one interaction to stamp out stigma.

Below is one quote that show you what we undergo,being a community that needs so much support:

(1) KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (Reuters) - HIV carriers should not be allowed to marry, in order to avoid having sick children, a top Malaysian politician was quoted on Monday as saying.
"Somebody who is very sick like that should not be allowed to get married," Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, chief minister of northern Perak state was quoted as saying by New Straits Times newspaper.

The world still needs to be enlightened.Many,including law makers,are still in the dark.

My Bold Idea is to create a Poverty and Stigma-free world for both the infected and affected by HIV/AIDS,and to encourage women to share their stories and problems through blogging.

Leah Auma Okeyo.