Barbara Kemigisa is an esteemed Ugandan HIV activist, motivational speaker, and the Executive Director of the Barbara Kemigisa Foundation, headquartered in Hoima Oil City, Uganda. She is widely recognized for leveraging her personal journey through child molestation, teenage pregnancy, living with HIV while being homeless, and confronting rejection to foster positive change and promote healthy living among children and adolescents impacted by or at risk of HIV and AIDS. Her mission is to restore dignity and hope, empowering them to lead safe and healthy lives.

Barbara’s advocacy and innovative ideas have been showcased on numerous prestigious platforms, including IAS 2016 in Paris, AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam, a recycling and waste management conference in Singapore, and AIDS 2022 in Canada. Her impactful work has also been featured in documentaries on major international media outlets such as the BBC, Voice of America, and CGTN.

Through the Barbara Kemigisa Foundation, she has reached over 300 children and adolescents since 2020 with the “Bring Back to Care” campaign, supported by Baylor Uganda. This initiative engages children and adolescents monthly through peer support and adherence clubs, both at health facilities and within communities.

Barbara is passionate about recycling ARV tablet bottles and repurposing materials, viewing this as symbolic of giving people, especially children and young people, second chances to discover and become their best selves. This belief is inspired by the kindness she received from strangers during her own challenging times, which has driven her to never give up on anyone.

Barbara has also developed a unique way of dealing with stigma as a person living with HIV. For instance, when she has been called derogatory names such as a “walking dead body,” she embraces the term by wearing it on a T-shirt the next day. This approach not only helps her cope but also challenges and destigmatizes the negative perceptions surrounding HIV.

Looking to the future, Barbara hopes to publish a book she is writing called “Rotten Avocado,” a term she has been called multiple times. She aims to destigmatize these hurtful words and continue her advocacy against HIV stigma. Barbara’s foundation started a sponsorship campaign to identify 100 people to sponsor 100 young people to be part of a peer support group. It takes 20 Euros a month or 240 Euros a year for each child. Furthermore, she aspires to build a “dream village” to care for thousands of vulnerable individuals, continuing her mission of support and empowerment.