Co-Directors
Angelina Namiba
Originally from Kenya, Angelina has over 24 years’ experience of working in the HIV sector on different initiatives ranging from providing one-to-one support to people living with HIV, treatment advocacy, managing service delivery to facilitating, promoting and advocating for the involvement of women living with HIV in forming and informing local and national strategy and policy.
She is passionate about the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of women living with HIV and enabling good quality of life for young people living with HIV and has supported them around various issues and coping strategies including HIV Treatment Literacy and general well-being around living with HIV. Her special area of interest is HIV and pregnancy. From 2010-2011 she led the planning, curriculum development and delivery of the pilot project ‘From Pregnancy to Baby and Beyond’ with Positively UK. This project featured in Salamander Trust’s “Rights, Camera, Action” participatory film training workshop. From 2012-2015, Angelina’s work with Positively UK developed it into a sustainable model of education, information, emotional and practical support, for women living with HIV through ante- to post-natal care. It then moved on to be called 4M in 2016 when the project expanded across the UK as a Salamander Trust Project. 4M has now become a separate organisation in its own right. Angelina is the lead author of our 4M Mentor Mother training manual to train other women living with HIV as Mentor Mothers.
Angelina also sits on various national and international advisory boards. These include as a patron of the National HIV Nurses Association , a lay member of the Women’s Network of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, a member of the Organizing Committee of the annual International Women and HIV Workshop, has been a Community representative for BHIVA , and is a Trustee of the National AIDS Trust and SAFE Kenya . She has co-authored various articles in peer-review journals and UNAIDS reports.
Longret Kwardem
Longret Kwardem is a Co-director of the 4M Mentor Mothers Network CIC and a Salamander Trust Associate. She is a peer researcher, public speaker and active community advocate who belongs to several networks including Making Waves, UK Community Advisory Board (UK–CAB) and Supporting Women with HIV Forum and Information (SWIFT). She is passionate about the value of peer support, peer research and the meaningful involvement of People living with HIV. She has a special interest in the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls living with HIV and the sustainable funding of grassroots women-only spaces.
Rebecca Mbewe
Rebecca is a mentor, speaker and trainer who has long standing experience of working within various areas of the HIV sector. Rebecca is a member of the UK Community Advisory Board which she represents at the British HIV Association Steering Group Committee. She has been actively involved in producing a Patient Accessible Version of the BHIVA standards. She is also an Associate at the Salamander Trust (4M Project), which aims to protect, promote and enhance the health and rights of people marginalised by societies worldwide as a result of their gender, HIV status or sexual and reproductive health issues and violence against women. Rebecca is passionate about these women’s issues and spends much of her time advocating and supporting other women through speaking engagements and delivering training workshops.
Rebecca has been living with HIV for the past 23 years. She holds a BSc in Psychology and an MBA in Healthcare.