"One day, I hope I will finally have financial freedom, my children will have a better life, I will continue to grow the skills I have learned in the program, and I will become a role model to people living with HIV & AIDS.”

In 2005, when Salome Adhiambo Ochieng's husband died from HIV/AIDS, she was left unemployed with two children to feed. However, a few years later, she remarried and began a new life with her husband; they had one more child. 

Things took a turn for the worse in February 2018 when Salome tested positive for HIV. She recalls being anxious and confused. “What is going to happen to me? Is this the end of my life? What would my husband and children think of me?” she wondered. 

Immediately, she shared the results with her husband and his relatives began discriminating and isolating her from the rest of the family. Her husband would mock her by collecting burial money in her name. “She is going to die soon,” he would say. After a while, she chose to separate from her husband. As a result, Salome was lonely, stigmatized, and depressed. Furthermore, she was bitter with God for allowing her to suffer.

Salome attempted suicide twice. The first time she ingested poison, yet a neighbor found her in time and took her to the hospital. The second time, she used a rope noose on her neck. Thankfully, her elder son found her and stopped her. It was also during this time that she became dependent on alcohol.

In 2019, she was introduced to the Untold program by Edwin, the male champion at the Nyawita center. Drawn by all the great things Edwin shared about the program, Salome signed up.

We can only thank God for the transformation we have witnessed in her life. At recruitment, she was bedridden and weighed 47 kgs (105 lbs). After consistent nutritional interventions like the provision of weekly cereals, nutriflour supplements, and adherence counseling, Salome now weighs 63 kgs (138 lbs). She has taken charge of her life and is faithfully taking her medications and keeping her medical appointments. As a result, her viral load has decreased substantially. We also thank God that Salome is now celebrating six months of sobriety from drug and substance abuse. 

“Untold has not only helped me with my weight, but it has also helped me financially. Before, I did not have a stable source of income and would often go without meals. Today that is not the case! Through the seminar activities, I have learned about poultry farming. I am glad to report that I have started my poultry rearing farm that has chickens, ducks, and geese that I sell for profit,” Salome added.

Because of the interventions in counseling sessions, Salome is no longer suicidal or depressed. She disclosed her status to people around her who have accepted her and support her. She is optimistic, jovial, social, and hopeful for a better future — a life beyond AIDS. 

She attributes her hope to the verses and encouragements she reads in her Luo Bible that she received during the program and the Sunday sermons at her local church. She recently signed up for the discipleship classes at Trust Ministry.

Salome also recently discovered her passion for beauty and makeup activities. She began training as a cosmetologist in styling hair and applying makeup at a salon owned by a friend. 

 “The skills required for this work are easy to learn and have the growth potential. Training here has also given me social nourishment because we spend time chatting and interacting with the customers,” Salome said.

“I am so grateful for Untold for coming to my aid in every aspect of my life. You have supported me financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

We have faith that he who began a good work in Salome, will bring it to completion. -Philippians 1:6