MORÉNIKÉ OLÁÒSEBÌKAN superpower PROVIDING EDUCATION AND RAISING FUNDS FOR HIV RELIEF

Even while managing her own health crisis, MORÉNIKÉ OLÁÒSEBÌKAN was thinking about others. More than a decade ago, while she was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis in her native Nigeria, Moréniké noticed how patients living with HIV were stigmatized. “I was moved by their challenges, so in 2003, when I arrived in Canada to study, I knew I wanted to do something to support that community,” says Moréniké, who now has her own fashion label and is a pharmacist and associate owner of a Shoppers Drug Mart in Edmonton. What she didn’t have in funds, she had in drive and talent. “I could paint, design clothing and sew, so I took an idea to the African-caribbean society where I was studying at the University of Alberta,” she says. “We would invite all of our friends and everyone on campus, charge a little money and organize a fashion, arts and music exhibition.” The result was the Ribbon Rouge gala (ribbonrouge.com), a night of fashion, food, music, dancing and fine art, with proceeds going to support HIV relief.

Ten years later, the Ribbon Rouge gala has raised almost $46,000 for three organizations: HIV Edmonton, The Stephen Lewis Foundation and UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. “The theme of the gala is conveyed through art, poetry, music and dance,” says Moréniké, “and the speeches are directed toward social action and breaking down the barriers to care.” She hopes to grow Ribbon Rouge into a charity that, through the arts, advocates and educates locally and globally to raise awareness and funds for a cure. The challenge, she explains, is that HIV is no longer a media headline, so many people don’t think it’s relevant anymore. Yet, according to Alberta Health’s annual report, there were 255 newly diagnosed cases of HIV in that province in 2013—an increase for the third year running. “The ultimate goal is that we get to zero,” says Moréniké. “It would be awesome to be able to say that there are no Aids-related deaths in Edmonton anymore.”