"But what will happen to me?" words I muttered in fear as a 10 year old AIDS orphan

"But what will happen to me?" are words I muttered in fear as a 10 year old AIDS orphan just a year after my young mother's death. I wondered what life would be like when I 'grow up'. Would we always be poor, would my grandmother have to work all her life cleaning houses she could never afford, would I always feel the shame of poverty and disease, would my own life would be as short lived as my mother's? Nonhlanhla Nobiva was a young 25 year old township girl when she was diagnosed HIV positive. Very quickly, death reeled her closer with full blown AIDS a little after she turned 26 and took her to her final home at just 27 years old, leaving behind her only child. And while this all feels like it was just yesterday, it's a few years later and her little 10 year old just turned 25 years old living a full and wondrous life! What a mighty God! I gape in awe looking at what God has done. Drunk with love for this life and the bold-bald young woman looking back at me... truly loving who she's turning out to be. Gratitude is all there is for me to express, thank you to ALL who have been a part of making this life possible.

Firstly, I felt true gratitude for even making it to 25 while doing research for our campaign reading The Global Coalition of Women and AIDS journal on the critical intersections of violence against women and HIV/AIDS. I read it with tears in my eyes because in my beloved continent of Africa women and girls are the most affected population with less tools and opportunities to escape poverty. And in my beloved country of South Africa young women (15 -24 years old) account for 75% of HIV infections and are approximately three times more likely to be infected than young men of the same age. The high rates of HIV infection in women have brought into sharp focus the problem of violence against women. There is a growing recognition that women and girls' risk of and vulnerability to HIV infection is shaped by deep-rooted and pervasive gender inequalities - violence against them in particular. So believe me when I say that I could have easily been any one of those women with HIV, being physically abused and feeling very discouraged by the lack of accountable leaders who sometimes don't even have the capacity to reflect on the reality of what it must be like to live; and survive as our women and girls. 

I am grateful to the many good people who saw a light in me as a little girl and were willing to bet on me. Thank you to my parents who I never got to really know for bringing me into this world, my grandmother for stepping up and being my mother and father at 58 years old, my family, my childhood friends, social workers, churches, schools, teachers, deans, bosses, colleagues, peers, partners, companies, organizations, press and all who have been a part of shaping this life. Thank you for supporting my hopes and dreams, inspiring my growth, holding me to a standard of excellence and ensuring my survival in whatever big or small way that you could contribute. Ngiyabonga. 

Please know that I appreciate all of the heartfelt emails, texts, posts, calls, gifts and many birthday wishes shared with me throughout yesterday. With you, I laughed, cried, reflected, prayed and thanked our mighty God for all these good years and for the grace that has been given unto me. I recognize that it took people, thought, action, giving, donating, consideration, investment, hope, prayer, encouragement, and unconditional love ( lots of it at that) to ensure that a 10 year old AIDS orphan could live this journey and be where she is today. I truly am because you are, as taught to us by the mighty principle of UBUNTU "Umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu. - A person is who they are because of the others." 

So, here's to 75 more years of keeping it 100 as we take on the charge of truly engaging in impactful storytelling at scale, confronting humanitarian issues with other young leaders, distributing leadership and standing up courageously in the face of the many injustices that have no longer have a place in our societies. I look forward to creating even greater experiences together as we all strive towards our personal growth edges and collectively become the mighty leaders we are all created to be. 

In closing, I am wishing you all a blessed and productive year ahead and I say to our little 10 year olds (and all):

 “You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!” 

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! ??