MALAYSIA: With his stubbly head, pierced ear, tinted glasses and blue jeans, Benedict Montero looks like a gracefully ageing rock star -- an illusion reinforced by the 52-year-old's gravelly voice and megawatt smile. But Montero's calling is one which is far more noble than making rock music.
Diagnosed HIV-positive in 1992, Montero has made it his life's mission to guide others who have been afflicted with the illness.
Montero was candid about his life prior to contracting the sickness.
"I was taking drugs and basically drifting when I got the illness. I spent the early years in denial and isolation," he said, adding that his family told him to leave the house when they found out about his condition.
"There was little awareness of HIV back then."
In 1998, he discovered Positive Living, a programme where people with HIV guided others in the same boat.
"My life changed when I began to work with other HIV-positive people."
Montero broadened his knowledge by working with non-governmental organisations and the international community, besides attending leadership courses.
His advocacy paid off as he became one of the voices instrumental in getting free first-line medication for AIDS patients in Malaysia.
"It's odd but I became more positive after getting HIV.
"If I hadn't got the illness, I would have probably died earlier. But, now, my life has changed and I think it's a blessing in disguise," he mused.
Even his personal life has changed. Montero, a divorcee before his illness, has been in a steady relationship for the past decade.
And Montero, who aims to live till the ripe old age of 80, has pledged to continue fighting for his cause.
"I want to improve the lives of people with AIDS and give them hope, especially single mothers and children.
"At the end of the day, it's about living, and not about dying."
