Our Story
The Beginning: Deciding to Take a Stand
For decades HIV and AIDS have plagued Uganda, destroying families and fracturing communities. In 2010, community organizer Matsiko Johnbosco decided to take a stand against HIV and AIDS. He made it his mission to bring life back into his village, one person at a time. We call this effort Uganda Empowers.
Learn how Uganda Empowers fights HIV and AIDS in Uganda
See Uganda Empowers’ programs and services
Matsiko Johnbosco explains why he chose to fight HIV and AIDS in his community:
Since I was 11 years old I’ve been diagnosed with various diseases, suffered sinus problems, and even experienced abdominal organ failures. I’ve tried every treatment imaginable but the relief from my ailments is always temporary. These poor health conditions have hindered my education, but I had all the funds to complete every level in Uganda’s Educational System.
When I visited the hospitals as a child, I encountered many patients of differing diseases, but the ones that touched me most were the infants infected with HIV. It is unfortunate that anyone has to live with HIV and AIDS, because it is a preventable disease. And after witnessing a number of deaths due to AIDS, I felt like joining the rest of the world in the fight against this life slayer.
AIDS has affected every Ugandan by killing our brothers, sisters, parents, friends and neighbors. I couldn’t sit by idly as my community suffered. This led me to create Uganda Empowers.
With Uganda Empowers, I try to fight HIV and AIDS, but the bigger fight is to fight ignorance. Ignorance has given a lot of victory to HIV’s and AIDS’ progression in the local communities of Uganda. It has also caused the stigmatization, the discrimination, and the neglect of persons infected with HIV and AIDS.
In order to combat this, I’ve also introduced a performance element to Uganda Empowers. We travel from community to community to tell people that death and/or suicide is not the answer to those living positively with HIV and AIDS. My goal is to spread this message to all of Uganda.
– Matsiko Johnbosco, Founder of Uganda Empowers
