“For the first few years I, and all around me, kept waiting me to die. Then I decided that I could not wait anymore. I decided to chang— for the sake of my child,” she says.

The mother of two then decided to study further. “Knowledge was the only way of arming myself against AIDS. I did a two-year course in yoga, naturopathy and diet,” said Vinita. She now knows and works to inform others that having AIDS is not a death sentence anymore.

Archana says it is time people started treating HIV-AIDS like diabetes or any other heart problem “There are several diseases people live with, like cancer, diabetes and cholesterol. HIV-AIDS is like that. Only awareness can arm us to fight AIDS,” she adds.