Lucy

By being open about who I am, I can help others and make a difference in society.

Lucy is a strong and caring woman. She does not give up easily and loves caring for others. She worked for many years in healthcare with people who have acquired brain injuries. As a child, Lucy was unable to attend school due to civil war, poverty, and the belief that educating girls was a waste of money. Today, she wants to give children that opportunity by building a school in Uganda. To make this possible, Lucy uses her creativity. She creates abstract paintings and African sculptures, raising funds for her education projects through her art.

Lucy has been living with HIV for thirty years. In her home country, Uganda, she could not be open about her diagnosis because of the strong stigma surrounding HIV. This is why she now wants to help break that stigma. In the Netherlands, she found support at ShivA, a community where people living with HIV support one another. Lucy has been a volunteer there for ten years and supports other women. She dreams of growing old together with her husband and hopes for a society where people living with HIV are treated with respect and understanding, just like everyone else.