2 April 2014 – There were a dozen or so people, mostly women and children, crammed into the rundown room in Pissy, a neighbourhood of Ouagadougou. They were in a poor state; the room didn’t even have a door or windows. Their families had rejected them because they had HIV. When Félicienne Zongo stumbled upon this sorry situation in 2006, she knew she had to act… fast. She turned to Fr Augustin Goytisolo SJ and together they decided to act. “We mobilised with friends to respond in solidarity,” recalls Félicienne. The result of their mobilisation was the Association les Bénévoles de l’Espérance (ABE). The ABE has grown over the years, welcoming 185 people with HIV and vulnerable children in 2013. And on 8 March this year, the ABE opened a centre to house their activities in Boassa on the outskirts of Ouagadougou… Read more