Dschang, Cameroon
Inauguration of the Je DREAM Movement
The inaugural meeting of the Je DREAM Movement was held at the DREAM Centre in Dschang, Cameroon on Oct.27th, 2009.
About 60 people attended the meeting, most of them men and women who are HIV positive but also several mothers who, thanks to the vertical prevention programme, have given birth to healthy babies.
It was a joyful, festive moment, an opportunity, as many of the participants said, to free themselves of the feelings of guilt and shame which are associated with the illness.
Some voiced their pride at joining a widespread movement, others expressed their happiness at having found a welcoming family.
The Je DREAM Movement aims to raise public awareness about the possibility of treating AIDS. It wants to fight against the stigma attached to the illness which so often renders the life of the sick even more difficult.
The DREAM Centre in Dschang, which is run by the Daughters of Charity, came into operation in May 2008, and at the moment is treating about 500 people.