Olipa Chimangeni visits Kelvin, a 14-year-old with HIV/AIDS.

Olipa Chimangeni and her small team of caregivers call on Gogo (Granny) Fulare, who cares for her orphaned grandson, Kelvin. The 14-year-old boy is open about the fact that he has HIV/AIDS.

Olipa, 24, greets Kelvin and his grandmother warmly and inquires about his health. She suggests how to make Kelvin more comfortable, quotes encouraging Bible verses, and prays with the family. Meanwhile, her team chops wood, boils water, and cleans.

"When I go to see someone who is dying of AIDS, it does not make me worry more about my status," says Olipa, who has HIV/AIDS and is a mother of two. "In fact, it encourages me when I see others benefitting from our visits. Those who aren't HIV-positive don't have that privilege."

Two years ago, Olipa was devastated to learn that she had HIV/AIDS. But prayer and family support helped her choose to live with the virus—not despite it. Olipa asked local World Vision staff to help her start a support group, Nthondo People Living With HIV. She leads the group's outreach work and explains to anyone who will listen—outside bars, in churches, in schools-about how real and serious HIV/AIDS is, and how to avoid its spread. "We who are HIV-positive have more impact than others who try to spread the same message," she explains. "When people see us, they cannot deny the virus is real."

According to the United Nations, 14 per cent of Malawi's adults are infected with HIV/AIDS. But the stigma of the disease brands its sufferers, isolating them from friends, neighbours, and even health-care providers. Many never get a blood test, pretending their symptoms are normal.

Olipa is leading others to fight against the denial and discrimination. She was the first in her church to go public with her status. She speaks boldly to community leaders, urging them to do more to stop HIV/AIDS. Her goal is for Nthondo to be a place where infected people can live free of stigma, contributing to the good of the community. "Others should be like her," says Nthondo head chief Yobe Jerome Edwin Mpanang'ombe of Olipa's courage. "There is no cause to shun people with HIV."