I had the honor of first meeting Magloire in November 2005, when I was working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Cameroon alongside the other founding members of EFA International. After months of working over the course of that year with Drew, EFA’s Executive Director, AJEPS became the first HIV-positive youth support group to receive support and training from EFA International.

I traveled to Maroua to interview and photograph AJEPS’ members to mark the debut of our work with such youth groups. The last day of Ramadan had just been celebrated and AJEPS members were proudly dressed in their best clothes as they arrived to the whitewashed compound that would become their office headquarters. Under the shade of the quartier’s neem trees, we sat on plastic woven rugs exchanging celebratory greetings in Fulfuldé and admiring everyone’s festive attire.

While a larger organizational meeting took place, I invited consenting AJEPS members to sit with me in a quieter corner of the compound, where I would ask them about themselves, learn the story that each wanted to share and take photographs. Magloire arrived in a red and white plaid shirt, his gaze timid but thoughtful. His smile came easily, but his face showed honest determination. Since learning of his HIV-positive status, Magloire told me that he had found solace in being part of AJEPS’ support group. He scooped sand from the ground, gently passing grains through his hand to the compound floor. He said that while he excelled at art and sculpture, his true ambition was to become a politician, “maybe even the President of Cameroon.” I congratulated Magloire for his ambitions, knowing that his participation in the group was essential to living positively: social support, helping one another follow the complex ARV (anti-retroviral) regime, and encouraging economic success through income generating activities. We were both grateful for what AJEPS could offer him and were hopeful for the future.

I finished my Peace Corps term the following month but continued to correspond with AJEPS executive office members over the next two years as EFA International was officially established as a nonprofit in both the U.S. and Cameroon. I returned to Cameroon in June 2007 to host the Cultural Exchange with University of Maryland students. I am not sure who was more excited about the reunion: AJEPS members, the U. Maryland students, or me.

But perhaps it was Magloire that was the most energetic of all. He was in excellent health and his enthusiasm for the group and its activities with the American visitors could hardly be contained. Magloire, which literally means “my glory”, burst with eagerness as he ran errands and pick up supplies for each day’s activities. Since I’d seen him last, Magloire had started working at ACDEV (Action for Development), a local non-profit organization that educates the population about nutrition. In particular, they produce spirulina, a highly nutritious blue-green algae, to further support the health of malnurished children and those living with HIV. Magloire worked to produce and process the spirulina.

During this Cultural Exchange, Magloire led the group in stenciling t-shirts bearing AJEPS’ name and helped paint the colorful mural on the outer wall of their headquarters. I will never forget the smile that came to his face as he witnessed his artistic labor come to fruition: each of his peers, AJEPS members and U. Maryland students alike, proudly wearing the t-shirts that he’d painstakingly stenciled.

At the end of the two-week visit, we all shook hands and wished each other well, saying “sey yesso” (see you later) and exchanging small gifts. Magloire presented me with a wooden bird that he had carved himself. He explained that this small sparrow represented hope. With many thanks and heartfelt words exchanged, we parted ways, not knowing when we’d see each other next.

I never saw Magloire’s timid smile again. He passed away this past March in Maroua. Despite the moral support that he received from AJEPS, it did not reach him soon enough. Despite the measures that he took to maintain his health: anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to slow the course that AIDS took in his body, antibiotics to prevent infections that his immune system could not fight, and healthy foods to keep his body strong, there were not enough resources at his disposition to prolong his life.

Magloire’s enthusiasm and energy will be deeply missed by AJEPS and all of us at EFA International. We express our deepest sympathy to his family and friends. EFA International continues to support groups like AJEPS so that promising youth like Magloire can build healthy and successful futures for themselves. This loss shakes us to our core, but it reminds us of the work that still lies ahead. We must strive to reach HIV-positive youth as soon as possible, so that they can access the resources that they need to disrupt the cycle of the AIDS epidemic and live longer, happier, more productive lives.

Que ton âme reste en paix, Magloire. May your soul rest in peace. And like a sparrow in the sky, may our souls continue to soar with hope for a brighter future for youth affected by HIV and AIDS.

-Rachel Hoy, MPH

Tags: ACDEV, AJEPS, in memorium, Maroua, News from Cameroon, nutrition, peace corps, youth network