Patrick Fouda is a 27-year-old Cameroonian organizer and social entrepreneur who is on the way up. When he was 23, he was inspired to co-found the Cameroon Network of HIV-positive Adolescents and Youth (RECAJ+) to respond to the social inequalities and health problems faced by young people living with HIV in Cameroon.
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From the Bangkok offices of Youth LEAD and the Asia Pacific Network of People Living With HIV and AIDS (APN+), the pair reflects on those chaotic adolescent years with halting candour. They unpack layers of vulnerability and abuse the way poverty and trauma can propel young people toward sexual exploitation, higher HIV risk and a cascade of rights violations. And they say that
At 16 years old it was incredibly daunting for Justin to tell his parents that he was gay. Both his mother and father were supportive, but worried how their son would be treated.“They were concerned that there would be repercussions because of my identity, that life would be difficult,” he says.And in many ways their concerns were valid.