Platforms

Here I Am

Partners

The Global Fund Open Society Foundations Here I Am

Process

Selection

GFAN (the Global Fund Advocates Network) selected the individuals who tell their stories in the six featured videos. Testimonials are being collected at global conferences and in collaboration with advocacy organizations in all parts of the world.

Participants

  • Kenya - Edward Kahi Mwangi
  • South Africa - Joseph Mqabulani
  • Dominican Republic - Reyna Altagracia Felix
  • Ukraine - Yevhen Silin
  • Tanzania - Lilian Pendaeli Sumari
  • Philippines - Laurindo Garcia

The individuals who recorded the testimonials included here stepped into a video booth at the international AIDS conference in Washington in July 2012. More than a hundred other testimonials can be accessed through the Here I Am Campaign's online library

Financing

Open Society Foundations(OSF)/Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN)

Editorial Control

The OSF/GFAN partnership commissioned the videos, specified the overall themes, and had final say on the content of the completed pieces.

Credits

  • Produced by John Kennedy
  • Edited by Cinnamon Kennedy
  • Videography by the featured individuals
  • Translators
    • Swahili: Betty Momanyi, Umra Omar and Eannaso, Tanzania
    • Spanish: Inma Barrios
    • Ukrainian: Anastasiia Babenko
    • French: Michael Mestre

Technology

Securing, translating, and editing the footage required a complex system of global shipping and internet connectivity.

Distribution

The videos are being used as advocacy tools – in person and online -- by members of the Global Fund Advocates’ Network. They are publicly available at www.hereiamcampaign.org, on the Huffington Post, and on GFAN-affiliated websites around the world. Global screenings are taking place throughout 2012-2013 in conjunction with major Global Fund-related summits, starting with the July 2012 international AIDS conference in Washington DC.

Laurindo Garcia on ABC Australia

Laurindo Garcia speaks about HIV/AIDS

After being a part of the Here I Am campaign, Laurindo Garcia (featured in Story 6) interviews on ABC Australia Network's Newsline about HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.

Story 1: Reyna Altagracia Felix, Dominican Republic

Reyna Altagracia Felix is a 16 year-old in the Dominican Republic who was born with HIV. Reyna and her mother discuss the importance of programs funded by the Global Fund that allow them to receive treatment for HIV. Reyna shares her dreams for her future, and shares a message of hope to other teens living with HIV that they can live happy, healthy lives.

Story 2: Yevhen Selin, Ukraine

Yevhen Silin is a 34 year-old Ukranian man who used to be an injecting drug user. Yevhen shares a story about his struggles with drug addiction, and how much his life has changed since he was able to begin substitution therapy. Because of the Global Fund’s support, injecting drug users in the Ukraine are able to access opiate replacement therapy, which greatly reduces the spread of HIV.

Story 3: Lilian Pendaeli SUmari, Tanzania

Lilian Pendaeli Sumari is a Tanzanian mother living with HIV. Lilian talks about losing her husband to AIDS and her difficulty accepting her own diagnosis. Lilian discusses the medications that have improved her life and protected her unborn son from contracting HIV. Because of the Global Fund’s support, pregnant women in Tanzania are able to access medicine to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child.

Story 4: Joseph Mqabulani, South Africa

Joseph Mqabulani is a South African living with HIV who runs community support groups for others living with HIV/AIDS. Joseph discusses the important role support groups play in ensuring that others get the treatment and support they need to stay healthy. Because of the Global Fund’s support, people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa are able to receive treatment and support services that drastically improve their lives.

Story 5: Edward Kahi Mwangi, Kenya

Edward Kahi Mwangi is a 32 year-old Kenyan husband and father. Edward shares a story about his struggles with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, a disease which is difficult to treat and can be fatal. With the Global Fund’s support, Edward has been able to access medication that has improved his health, and he has been able to ensure that his wife and child also stay healthy.

Story 6: Laurindo Garcia, Philippines

Laurindo Garcia is a 39 year-old activist from the Philippines who works on issues related to HIV and human rights. Laurindo and his father discuss their experience accepting Laurindo’s HIV status and his decision to come out as gay man with HIV in order to reduce the stigma around being gay and HIV+ in the Philippines. He was also interviewed on ABC Australia Network's Newsline.

Testimony 1: Abosede Oladayo, Nigeria

Testimony 2: Rosemary Mburu, Kenya

Testimony 3: Jennifer Gatsi-Mallet, Namibia

Testimony 4: Thokozile Phiri-Nkhomoa, Malawi

Testimony 5: Maurine Murenga, Kenya

Testimony 6: Women’s Voices in support of the Global Fund

Video string of women's voices in support of the Global Fund. These testimonials were filmed at the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC this July.