Joyce Dzidzor
Ex-HIV & AIDS Ambassador Joyce Dzidzor Mensah has called on benevolent Ghanaians to aid her to get out of the deep financial crisis in which she currently finds herself.
She disclosed that she has no means to raise money to support the education of her three children as a single mother.
The reason, she stated, is that no one wants to work with her because of her HIV/AIDS status.
“I am currently not living with my children because I don’t have a place to stay. I am in deep crisis. My medications are also very expensive and I can’t afford it…,” she told NEWS-ONE on Thursday.
“I invested all my money into a barbering shop and a small food joint but people started complaining the food is infected with virus and so people shouldn’t buy from the joint. Everything has collapsed and I lost all my money,” she added.
In December 2014, Dzidzor publicly announced that she lied about her HIV/AIDS status for years and had never tested positive for the disease before working with the Ghana AIDS commission as an HIV/AIDS ambassador.
After that declaration, she has been on several media platforms trying to defend her actions, even though she has received widespread criticisms from Ghanaians and the Ghana AIDS Commission.
However, in 2016, she made a shocking U-turn to say she, indeed, tested positive for the virus. She had to lie about her status to protect her children from stigmatisation.
“It looks like because I have done campaigns and my face is everywhere, it is difficult for people to even work with me. So right with my situation as a single mother with three children and no job, I am pleading with the general public to support me with money to start something to take care of my children,” she pleaded on Thursday.
“I realised that I have destroyed my life just because I tried to protect my children at school by denying my status. I am in crisis now and if people are able to support me and my family, I am willing to come back to work on TV and radio to educate people on HIV & AIDS. When I sleep, I always dream I am still teaching children about HIV & AIDS,” Dzidzor added.