Maputo, Mozambique - The DREAM Center of Matola 2 is named after Ana Maria Muhai, one of the first activists of the Program started by the Community of Sant’Egidio

The new DREAM center, specialized in the prevention of mother-infant HIV transmission and in the treatment of HIV-positive children in Matola 2 - a densely populated suburb of Maputo - has

just been named after Ana Maria Muhai, one of the first activists of the Program.

Ana Maria Muhai, already severely ill, had been able to take advantage of the free treatment provided by DREAM in Machava (Maputo) during the first months of 2002 when the Program was initiated with the goal of ensuring even in Africa those diagnostic and treatment capabilities available in the West, a profound innovation at that time.

Thanks to the treatment she received, Ana Maria recovered thereby evoking surprise among those who had seen her wither and come closer to death. That resurrection experience had engaged her deeply, inducing her to dedicate herself to ensure that many other sick people would trust the treatment and would receive adequate care.

Ana Maria had become a vigorous witness, one of the best known and most representative of the DREAM Program, appearing at the U.N. to support universal access to treatment. A brave and tireless woman, she had believed that the DREAM Program could transform itself from a “dream” to the real future of so many sick people in Mozambique and elsewhere.

Her energy extinguished itself last year, in April 2013, due to health problems not related to

AIDS. But her voice and her example continue to speak to and to encourage others. The inauguration of the center that will bear her name occurred in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Health of Mozambique as well as of many of the patients being cared for under the Program.

Her commitment continues thanks to the efforts of many other activists who are able to reach out to the social fabric of their neighborhoods or their villages, and of nearby neighborhoods and villages, and to the public opinion of the whole country. Many other women like her continue to be protagonists in the liberation from the disease, tools for the formation of consciences, and precious assets for the country they live in.