Vida — Now at School and Aiming for the Fast Lane!

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Vida

Ghana

11 years

Primary school student

Lives with her father (also HIV +)

Began antiretroviral therapy in March 2007

Young Vida is playing catch up and she’s proving to be a fast learner.

Vida couldn’t start school until she was 9 years old because of AIDS and other opportunistic infections. However she now impresses her teachers, her Doctor and her Dad, Raphael, with her appetite for life and learning.

Currently Vida says her favorite subjects at school are math, art, English and natural sciences.

Vida lives with her Dad as her mother, who is also HIV positive, was paralyzed by a stroke some years ago and lives some hours away in her hometown where she is being cared for by family. Vida and her Dad live in greater Accra so he can continue to work in construction to support his daughter and disabled wife.

Vida attends the Tema General Hospital HIV clinic which receives (RED) and Global Fund funding to help care for patients there. Vida’s doctor, Dr Patricia Mkansah Asamoah, says she is very happy with the way Vida has been responding to antiretroviral therapy. “Since we started her on antiretrovirals she’s been doing great. ….Now she’s fine, she’s able to go to school, she does her house chores, she does all the things she wants to do.”

In the future, Vida’s Dad Raphael is hoping Vida will continue to do well at school as he would love to be able to send her to university.

And Vida herself? She says she currently wants to be a Bank Manager with the Bank of Ghana…. so she can buy a car!

Meet Vida and Raphael and see other good news from Ghana here...