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The
13th World Aids Convention in 2000 was held in Durban
and the theme of the conference was “Breaking the Silence”.
One
of speakers at this conference was a young 11-year-old boy Xolani Nkosi
Johnson. He
told the Story
of how he came to be adopted by Gail Johnson and how his life drew
attention to the humane and loving care for HIV sufferers.
He
was addressing 10,000 scientists, activists, and healthcare workers from
around the world. He moved
the audience to tears as he reminded then that you can’t get AIDS from
hugging or kissing someone with the virus.
All he wanted to see was people with AIDS being treated like normal
people.
Inkosi
finally lost his battle with AIDS in 2001 and amongst the thousands of
mourners that turned out at his funeral, were dignitaries such as Former
President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia.
When
President Nelson Mandela heard of Inkosi’s death, he said :
“Let
his life and example to spur us on to be strong, resilient, and vigorous in
our fight against this dreaded infection. He has earned the right to be accorded all our honor, dignity, and
respect."
At
his funeral a page with his picture and these words were handed out to the
many attendees.
One
small boy did so much.
What
can you and I do?
Let the love and courage of Xolani Nkosi Johnson
Fill your heart with determination
To care for infected and Orphaned children of our land
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