CI CI is living with HIV. First diagnosed when she was 20 years old, Ci Ci has been on medication which means her levels are now undetectable. She said: “It is my lifeline… It’s what has kept me healthy for these last 15 years.” An advocate of others living with HIV, Ci Ci has two children - who are both HIV negative - 12-year-old Zion and two-year-old Zuri. The mother-of-two said: “When I got pregnant with Zuri, this time we are talking about breastfeeding - something I never thought would be possible.” She further explained that in available studies, the risk of transmission through breastfeeding was around 1% and she had support from some doctors. Ci Ci initially shared her story to find community with other women living with HIV and decided to start a blog: ‘Healing Is Voluntary’. She said: “As a woman who is living with HIV and who is extremely open with my status and extremely proud and open with the fact I have kids, I have received a lot of negative feedback from the people online.” She has been called ‘selfish’ for having children and breastfeeding one. But she has also received a lot of positivity and continues to work hard to spread awareness, educate and learn more herself. Ci Ci said: “One thing that I would like to tell the world is that for people living with HIV, it is just a part of our identity.”

Follow Ci Ci here:
https://www.instagram.com/ci.ciiiiii/
https://www.tiktok.com/@ci.ciiiiii
https://www.healingisvoluntary.com/
https://www.thewellproject.org/