Monday Inspiration …

Here’s my new weekly segment where I’ll post anything that may inspire me – a great way to remind ourselves that even Mondays can be inspiring 🙂

Sunrise in the Far West District of Achhan, Nepal

My friend Paula is an HIV specialist who has worked in Romania, Maldives and now Bangkok. As part of her current job, she travels to many countries in the region providing technical assistance to different programmes in terms of HIV prevention, especially amongst women and mothers. I know she has seen a lot, and knows the subject as an expert, but being an expert doesn’t necessarily mean, of course, that we are more or less detached from other people’s experiences. She sent me this passage as a suggested first guest post for my inspirational Mondays… I found it perfectly suited and it reminds us that especially people who are suffering extreme hardships are the ones who can offer us the most inspiration:

“Today I found my inspiration in an unexpected way. By meeting 14 Nepalese women. All living with HIV. Most of them were infected by their husbands, migrant workers in Mumbai, who – besides money – brought home the virus too. All are poor. Most of them are widows and the main caretaker of their families. All have a story to tell. All have walked the path from bitterness to faith. Some of them are talkative, while some are just quietly sobbing. But all have learned how to cope with stigma and discrimination. I’ve listen today to 14 stories. Stories of love and pain, support and abuse, anger and hope. Stories of 14 women. Strong, beautiful, inspirational women.”

Paula was inspired by the 14 survivors… I was too, and hopefully you will be as well.