Six

The following text is narrated by Husseina Hamza, founder of Red Ribbon Living Well, in collaboration with Erick Obanda and Adetunji Omotosho. It refers to the organisation's history in relation to one of the locations on the “We are Here… We are on the Move” Route. In order to see the full list of places, as well as the texts and videos related to them, please access the Route page

December 2021 - Present, Reflection

After making the blankets we began to prepare our first public event for World AIDS Day 2021. We planned a day of talks, testimonials, performances, opportunities to engage communities to get HIV teste, and to network while enjoying African food. We started looking for a space we could use for free because we didn’t have funds to rent a place. I remembered that one of the trustees from 170 was also a trustee at The Somerville Community Centre and that is how we found our venue. We went to see it before the event, and we realised we could hang our blankets there. Jorella and the students came and planned our successful event.

World AIDS Day 2021 was the first time we shared our stories with members of the public and with people from different organisations including GPs, representatives of local government, community group leaders, faith leaders, and commissioners from Public Health. It was also the first time we had the Red Ribbon board of trustees together physically in one space. Even more special was the follow up. The first Somerville event was a springboard. After that, it became easier to call people and invite them to our events, as well as being invited to their events, because they had seen us and heard us.

Our annual World AIDS Day events at the Somerville is where we go to reflect on how the year has been and to think about the year ahead.

About Red Ribbon Living Well

Red Ribbon Living Well (RRLW) is a community-led voluntary organisation supporting individuals affected by and living with HIV, mental health and family survivors of domestic violence in Lewisham and surrounding areas. The group was founded in 2009 by members who recognised the need for peer support in the community, and it has grown from its grass-roots beginnings. More information can be found on: redribbonlivingwell.org