Vidah is from Homa Bay county, Kenya. Homa Bay county has an HIV prevalence of about 27.1 percent compared to the national average of about 6.3 percent.
The main spread factors are retrogressive cultural practices of wife inheritance, commercial and fish-for-sex exchanges especially around the beaches and bars, multiplicity of partners, alcohol, and drug abuse.
HIV has affected all groups in the population, but the most affected have been those between the ages of 15-45 years who are considered to be sexually active.
After Vidah’s mother died, she dropped out of school. When she got pregnant, her aunts forced her to marry an older man, and she had two more children.
She left her husband and went back home to sit her fourth form exams, but the results were cancelled by the exam council due to technical anomalies. Vidah’s father could not afford to pay her fees for the second time and she was in danger of dropping out of school.
Vidah joined a DREAMS project which paid her school fees.
After completing high school, the same project sponsored her for a degree course in nursing at a university in Nairobi where she is currently a student.
“I was able to sit for my national exams and proceed with my nursing course because of DREAMS support.”
Vidah
Girls with DREAMS
This profile is taken from the PEPFAR Kenya “Our Lens Sauti Zetu (Our Voices)” photo book — a compilation of images captured by DREAMS girls highlighting their own stories.
The following DREAMS girls were the eyes behind the lens and beautifully captured the stories of the young women featured in the project: Dorcas Akinyi Onyango, Agnes Wanjiru Mugure, Flovian Atieno, Faith Akumu, Francisca Ndinda, Effie Awino, Fatuma Lando, Dorothy Oyuga, Linet Odira, Hellen Atieno.
Text and images from “Our Lens Sauti Zetu (Our Voices)” are used with permission from PEPFAR Kenya. Learn more about Girls with DREAMS.