The theme for the storytelling session, which drew more than 700 people, was “Daring.”
Ross’s story showed the stepping stones by which she became a daring person, strong enough to fight rape and HIV beginning in her childhood in rural Bolivia, growing in the church and in the shadow of her hero, her sister.
“I was so small, quiet, shy, and I couldn’t defend myself,” said Ross. “Because we are daughters of an evangelical pastor, they would always compare us, but not really remember my name.”
After getting attacked and raped, Ross, two years later, began to be very sick—and tested positive for HIV.
“Now living with HIV at that time, in 2000, it meant a lot of challenges, because there was nothing in Bolivia,” she said. “There were no medications.” Ross described how the love of her family and her father, an evangelical pastor then, were the keys which enabled her to choose life.
People were dying, she added, and often there was stigma.
“I managed to contact a small group of people living with HIV, and we founded an organization,” she said. “There were 52 of us who banded together to speak out and support each other.”
Ross’s sister helped her in every step. “Somehow in life, we ended up living the life the other one wanted,” said Ross. “Maybe this was fate, because in this way, we learned to value each other, to love each other more, and we learned to become strong together.”
Ross concluded: “I used to think daring was about being loud and seen; now I know daring is also refusing to disappear, finding your own light, stepping out of the shadow—and this is what I did.”
Ross said: “In the HIV work, the World Council of Churches amplifies powerful stories of transformation and love in response to HIV, where the church and the family are lifesaving expressions of the love of God.”