When I was pregnant with my third child, the doctor told me they found a problem with my blood.

I cried for seven days. I didn’t eat anything. All I could do was cry. Then I discovered more information and realized that there was a way to live. If I took medicine as the doctor said, HIV would not transmit to my baby. I felt so great that she was born in good health. I hadn’t done anything to hurt her. My kids know I have HIV, and they give me the strength to live. My eldest daughter says, “Mom, you have to be with us, we will live together. When I grow up, I will take care of you.”

My current husband is my third and he is a good guy. We have been together more than ten years and he still treats me nicely. I am so happy. I am happy everyday now.

On normal days I volunteer at the hospital. Otherwise I sell fruit in the market. Until photography refreshed my eyes, the produce in the market didn’t look interesting or appetizing to me. I lived there everyday. I got jaded. I was so worried at first when I started shooting photos in the market, but I had fun once I got going. When I saw the photos afterward, I felt so alive.

Normally, my father-in-law and I are not close. So I was surprised that he let me take his photo. He likes to sit there, watching TV. I think it reminds him of watching with his wife. Behind him, on the wall, is a portrait of the King, who is a father figure too.

Looking in the mirror I think to myself, I am just an ordinary thirty- six-year-old woman, a mother and wife, but I am still capable of taking care of everyone in the family. The mirror reflects who I am and my life. I have to look after myself. If I don’t take care of myself, how can I take care of others?

Sometimes there are four kids sitting on the bed while I am doing other things. You can see the affection among us.

Family is my medicine, healing my wounds. Sometimes I completely forget I have HIV.