Ibiyemi Fakande: ONE REMARKABLE NIGERIAN WOMEN’S FIGHT AGAINST HIV

July 3, 2015 411 Views Comment Off

For twenty years Ibiyemi Fakande has eaten just one meal a day. She does so not out of her own poverty but out of solidarity with the hardships and deprivation she sees in her South West Nigerian community. It is an act of discipline designed to keep her on the same level as those whom she has dedicated her life to. In a patriarchal society, this is one woman who commands an enormous amount of respect, admiration and even a little fear. Where women are considered second-class citizens she is known as a force to be reckoned with. This is because in Ilesa, Osun State, few have achieved what Ms Fakande has. She has improved the circumstances of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS and having saved countless others from becoming infected. Fakande is the founder and Director of a NGO, which for more that fifteen years has been the sole source of support for people in the area infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.