Three hundred miles from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in the town of Silgadi, Tara BK (photo right) has taken on fate by the horns and started the journey of transforming a tragic story into one of hope and potential success targeting “every corner where there is a positive case.”

From humble beginnings

Tara BK belongs to the Bisokarma “low caste community.” As a daughter and not a son, Tara was born as a burden to her family because a daughter is the property of her prospective husband, so any expense in her upbringing is a loss. Tara BK is a widow. Traditionally a widow is considered to have “eaten” the son of the family she married into and also earns the dubious status of being a “witch.” Tara BK is HIV/AIDS positive. She lost her husband and her infant son to the disease. So health-wise too Tara belongs to a group that is shunned and feared.

A long journey to found a family

Tara had been married for five years to a man who went to work in India soon after their marriage. Five years into the marriage her husband did not return even once. On the sixth year, Tara BK put her foot down and decided to join her husband in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Tara BK got pregnant, gave birth to a “fair, big and healthy son,” she recalls proudly. Then her husband began getting fever and the shivers. They took him to the local hospital but the doctor could not diagnose what was wrong. They took him to the bigger hospital where the tests showed that her husband was suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Two days after her husband’s death, Tara BK was back on her way to Nepal with her one year-old baby. Soon after her return, Tara worked the fields, but began feeling weak and tired. She would become breathless when walking. Salibaan, a boy from her village who worked with a local organization for people living with AIDS called CWC, approached her and asked her how she was doing. She confided in him, told him her symptoms and also her fear that it might be the “desi rog,” the local term for AIDS. Her friend who had received orientation on HIV/AIDS told her that the organization could arrange for a test and follow-up treatment if she was willing.