It began as a women�s initiative. "Mulheres para o DREAM", Women for a Dream (the name of the program fighting AIDS in Africa run by the Community of Sant�Egidio) is an association started by the first women affected with AIDS who regained the strength to live and hope thanks to the antiretroviral therapy provided for free at the centres of the Community of Sant�Egidio. Together they decided to help other people to hope, to turn to the therapy and trust in it.  

Immediately afterwards a few men joined these courageous women and during an assembly held at the end of October in Maputo, some asked to change the name of the association into "Humanidade para o DREAM".

Their purpose is to spread a simple, but decisive message: "AIDS can be treated".

Just like R., who got the disease in prison: "I started to speak to many people and walked many kilometres on foot to reach the most distant districts, to convey the message that AIDS can be treated. In the different schools and health centres where I spoke during the last two months, I met more than 15,000 people. During this journey, I took part in many funerals. My purpose is to educate, to change this Country�s mentality. I am not only an activist; I�m a model patient, an example for many people".

When they speak, some of them are moved. They remember a story of sufferance and abandonment, which all of a sudden found an unexpected positive turning point in meeting the program of Sant�Egidio.

For their tenaciousness the activists represent an important element of DREAM. They bear on their bodies the signs of the effectiveness of the therapy: "I weighed 26 kg, now I weigh 58" says G, smiling. And she has changed so much that some members of her family can�t believe she still has AIDS.

This is a further victory of DREAM over AIDS, which must not be underestimated: overcoming the fear of social stigma. The activists, together with their physical health, have recovered their dignity and a social role. They no longer deny they have the disease, which before the therapy meant a double sentence to death, social death and physical death. They become the most tenacious and convincing allies of the Community�s program against AIDS.
By accepting to share with others their experience, they indeed spread an "opposite" contagion, disseminating hope and trust in the treatment.