This magic moment

It was Sunday afternoon and I was walking with my daughter, Loris, to the Emiclear shopping mall. I stopped to greet my neighbour, Janneke, who asked about how Rio was doing at secondary school. My daughter herself then chatted about how exciting it was for her to start her practical training next week.

While we were talking a beautiful young woman walked past us barefoot. I watched every single move she made, thinking about myself back in Africa as a child, when I walked barefoot most of the time.I could not let her go without giving her a  compliment.

People like her are very rare these days. We always wear shoes because the streets are not safe - you find dog mess, litter and broken bottles and other glass. I like to go barefoot in the countryside sometimes, where there is far less chance of sharp objects to harm my feet. I said to her: “Wow, it’s great to see you walking without shoes. I like it. I did it a lot in Africa where it’s normal to walk barefoot. It’s healthy to be in direct contact with the earth.”

She said her name was Krista, and told me about how she dreamt of going to Africa, just to feel the vibe. I was happy to meet her even if just for a short time. My neighbour continued on her way home and my daughter and I went on walking to Emiclear.

Then, a few minutes later I saw Krista again. She was drinking coffee at an American coffee shop, getting a note book out of her bag.  I asked: “Are you a blogger?”  She said she was, so I replied “Me too!”  She asked: “What do you write about?” I answered: “My personal stories about HIV. I have been HIV positive for 15 years”. She was very surprised. I was wearing my U=U T-shirt, and head scarf. I knew this was the right time to use the U=U message to inform her about HIV. I explained my mission, my dream of a world without stigma and shame about being HIV positive, and how important it is for people to know their status by testing. She was impressed and said: ”You are truly amazing Eliane, you turn your pain into your greatest gift”.

I will continue to use this gift to save more lives. By being such a good listener she made me very happy and I am very impressed with what she does herself on her blog. She made me realise that everybody on this World has a unique gift and, if we all use this gift, we can make our World a better place. Krista, you are the inspiration to many, please keep up your remarkable work!  I thank God to meet such a magical sister!

See you soon!
Peace ,
Eliane