On World AIDS day, 4MNet is excited to launch our National Lottery funded FemiFesto 4M Reimagining the Future. Organisations and decision makers who have power to change policy and practice read this to improve our quality of life as women living with HIV.
4MNet Re-imagining the Future’ was a 9– month creative project that started in November 2020. Mentor Mothers were trained to use photography and creative writing to document and share our visions for better futures post-lockdown where all elements we need to be happy, healthy and safe are present.
Through this project, we used virtual peer sessions to reflect, analyse and share our ideas, photos and writing. Creative spaces are vital in enabling women’s voices and facilitating participation.
Using creativity, we document intersections that exist for us, envision holistic policy, practice, what we value most and show the contributions we make to society.
Using foresight and imagination we carry on being positively contributing members of our community and keep hope alive with intention.
View Femifesto Summary version here
View Femifesto longer version (with pictures taken by our Mentor Mothers) here
“Our intention is to work together as a sisterhood supporting the rights and voices of women living with HIV, through the pregnancy and motherhood.
— Neo
To work in solidarity.
To challenge policies that ignore our needs and rights.
To continue to empower through peer support and lived experience other women who are disadvantaged.
OUR BODIES, OUR DECISION
WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED
UNTIL WE ARE HEARD”
4M Reimagining the Future Incredible Creative Writing Outputs (silver linings ) from our Resilient Mentor Mothers.
Poems were all part of the Femifesto writing process. They were the result of creating safe spaces by women living with HIV for ourselves for connection, self-expression, encouragement, healing and sharing. Peer support that promotes self-discovery, self-love and empowerment.
We set up 4MNet to meet our priority of providing ourselves and our peers with psycho-social, perinatal support, as an essential part of our sexual and reproductive health and rights. This translates into positive outcomes for our babies, extended family and communities.
Core funding especially is an ongoing challenge for small women's rights organisations like ours and your support will go a long way in diversifying our income and sustainability to enable us uphold our Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights throughout our life.
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