( CNN ) -- Public attitudes about HIV and AIDS have changed dramatically since the first AIDS cases were reported 30 years ago . But in many parts of the world , the stigma is still powerful . CNN Hero Patricia Sawo , a pastor and AIDS activist in Kitale , Kenya , recently spoke with CNN 's Kathleen Toner about how much has changed since she was diagnosed with HIV -- and how much work remains to be done . Kathleen Toner : What was the stigma like when you tested positive for HIV in 1999 ? Patricia Sawo : It was hard in those days . No one wanted to take care of people with AIDS . So for me , that was the worst part of it . I was going to die , and die alone . And I was worried not only for myself , but for my children . I was afraid . The stigma was the painful part of it . After I went public , within one week , I lost my job , my husband lost his job ... the landlord wanted us out of his house . If I 'd died in those days , I was not going to die of AIDS . I was dying of the stigma . Toner : You mentioned your children . Did the stigma impact them ? Sawo : My kids went through it because people knew I was HIV-positive . I remember one day I visited my children in school , and they were crying because their friends would n't play with them . Their parents had told them not to , because they said they might get infected . I was testing my children so they would know their own HIV status . So I told them ( to tell the other children ) that your parents are better than their parents , because at least they know their status and you know your status . Their parents probably do n't even know their status , so they are the ones who are at risk . It caused a big problem in the school . But I had decided to educate the community . Toner : Tell me some of the other ways you 're trying to change people 's attitudes in your work as an AIDS activist . Sawo : I do a lot of work in the church . Before I tested HIV-positive , I personally believed that HIV was a disease for sinners . So for me , HIV was about people outside the church . I believed it , I preached it , and I thought if they changed their lives -- even if they are HIV-positive -- God would heal them . In 2002 , I realized my attitude was wrong . HIV is not a moral issue . It is a virus which , with the correct information and knowledge , can be taken care of . So the church must change its attitude . The church leaders must change their way of preaching . Today , I do pastors workshops and train church leaders . I take them through HIV information and lead them to be able to begin congregational responses on HIV and AIDS . As church leaders , we need to shepherd and take care of the people , and that 's why we need all information of all kinds . I 'm also a trained HIV counselor and peer educator . There are also young people that I 've mentored . I 've taken them through accepting their status ( as HIV-positive ) . And there are many young people that now go out in schools . They are teachers that I 've helped who even speak about their HIV status in schools . Toner : You 're doing so much work . Has the situation improved ? Sawo : Things have gotten better where stigma has been reduced , because there , people have accurate information . But there are areas where people do n't have the knowledge and look at it as a punishment or curse , or maybe as a traditional illness or taboo . ... We have to educate . Toner : What is your hope for the future ? Sawo : My dream is that finally we will have an AIDS-free world . With the information that we have now , HIV is something we can deal with . People do n't have to die of AIDS . HIV is something that can end with the people who have it . With the right information , attitude change and access to treatment , HIV can end with us . There 's still a lot of work to do , especially in Africa . But HIV is something that we can overcome . See the full story on CNN Hero Patricia Sawo : Church leader reverses stance on HIV , reaches out to those affected .
CNN Hero Patricia Sawo , a pastor in Kitale , Kenya , was diagnosed with HIV in 1999 . She said she and her family were treated like outcasts -- even her children . Her husband died of AIDS before they could have any more kids.