[MUSIC] >> I've been involved in HIV AIDS research since the beginning of the epidemic. My work in Kenya began when I went to Nairobi in 1999. So once I was there, I met with a number of physicians, community workers. All of whom really brought a single message to me. They wanted to see some integrated training for grassroots healthcare workers. The peak of that visit occurred when a nun, Sister Sylvia Postles, took me to her slum. And that was where I saw for the first time, that you could really teach grassroots residents how to take care of their own community members. Even if they couldn't read or write, they could learn enough to take care of the sick. To understand when they needed to find a doctor or a nurse. Or how much they could do on their own. That was a turning point in my life. One day I flew from Nairobi, an hour's flight to Kisumu. And then we hired a car for another one and a half hour's trip to Butula. And there under a very large tree, were a lot of children. When I asked why they weren't in school on a school day, I was told that it was because they were orphans. There was nobody to pay their school fees, or buy their books, or their uniforms, so they couldn't go to school. Without thinking, I said that's not right. I'll make sure you all go to school. Quite mindlessly, I said that. So, there I was. For the first two years or so, I personally paid for each child to go to elementary school. It didn't break the bank, cost about $5000 a year. And then the villagers came to me with the, quote unquote, good news that suddenly six of these children were going to go high school, boarding school. Something totally unexpected in the community. They were thrilled to death, and so was I. Until I realized that was going to be a very different story for me. Now the school expenses were going to change from about $50 per child, to about $600 per child in boarding school. But, of course, they said yes. And that started me writing dear friends and family letters to my community members and my family members. Who supported me to the tune of 21,000 for the first year, 40-some thousand for the second year. And this year, it's up to 65,000. It increases by about 20,000 a year. What we find is that they are highly motivated. There are many cases where the top four students in the class are our orphan groups. And then you realize that these students were sometimes brought from being servants, because they had to leave school. It's quite extraordinary they have been able to do so well. For them, it was a major struggle beyond their wildest dreams. And their poems certainly reflect their tremendous appreciation and enthusiasm for what's happening in their lives right now. This is a poem called Death Child by Charles. Death followed me everywhere. First it was my father, then my mother. I went to stay with my uncle, he too died. I moved to grandmother, and she sure died. I was afraid. It was said I was a bad omen, that I carried death. I was called the death child. I almost believed it. But I often asked myself, why hasn't Mama Natasha died? Why is Mama Mary still alive? And yet they love me so much. Here is another poem, written by the death child after he had a chance to go to high school. It's called, The Doctor. When I look at myself, what do I see? An orphan? No. A poor child? Never. I am not an orphan. I have Mama Natasha and I have Mary. I'm not poor. Poor children don't go to high school. I look at myself, I see a doctor. God bless us. I love that poem. [LAUGH] These children are like a family of their own. >> [MUSIC] >> On the first day of school, for one group, one student gave a speech to us. And she talked about the fact that they were all known by one name, orphans. And other people in the village wouldn't even allow their children to play with them, because they were afraid they would infect them. And now they recognize that, in fact, she said, I have 200 brothers and sisters. And a mother who loves us all very much. Today I'm going off to one of the best high schools in the whole country. And I'm really happy. And I promise to work hard and to support other orphans as well, as I graduate myself from college. They really believe in supporting one another. And I don't know how many times they have told me that they're also going to do the same thing for other orphans. Because they're so grateful, because they were helped that much. >> [MUSIC]
