Heera

She married young.

A few years later she got a 'talaq' - a divorce.

No kids.

Last year her ex-husband died.

For the last few months she has been sick.

Yesterday she was in the clinic with her father, brother and sister.

She has tested HIV positive.

She found out that her ex-husband had died of AIDS.

Now she probably has TB as well.

She found out about Jeevan Sahara Kendra from a family in her community. They had also experienced death in their home.

Her brother wants to know if she can be remarried.

No easy answers.

We will work one step at a time.

First to help her understand some of what is going on.

To get her onto the right meds - appropriate for how far the disease has affected her immunity.

To listen and help her work through the next steps in her life.

To talk with her family in a safe space.

No easy answers.

No buttons that can be pushed to see instant happiness pouring out.

And yet what an honour and privilege to work along side this young woman and her family.

Heera (diamond in Hindi) is not her real name.

I chose the pseudonym to express a small fraction of her value.