Who Was Nkosi Johnson?

Nkosi Johnson was a boy who challenged the world to recognize the needs for medical care and humane treatment of AIDS victims. He lived longer than any other South African child born with HIV.

In 1989, Xolani Nkosi was born near Johannesburg, South Africa. His mother had the HIV virus and passed it to him. This is very common in South Africa. In fact, 70,000 South African babies are born HIV-positive each year. Unlike most babies, Nkosi lived beyond the age of two.

HIV stands for Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus. It is a virus that causes AIDS. AIDS, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome, is a life-threatening illness. It is the later stage of the HIV infection. HIV is spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by infected blood, and by HIV-contaminated needles or syringes. Also, woman with HIV can pass the infection to their unborn babies or after birth through their breast milk.

In 1991, Nkosi's mother was too sick to care for her son. She was worried that her community would force her to leave with her son because they were both infected with HIV/AIDS. So, she took Nkosi to a care center for people with HIV/AIDS.

When the care center closed, one of the center's volunteers, Gail Johnson, took Nkosi to her home to care for him. Nkosi's birth mother agreed that Gail could become Nkosi's foster mother.

The year 1997 was a sad year for Nkosi because his birth mother died from the AIDS disease. Nkosi never got rid of the sadness of his mother's death. That same year, Gail Johnson tried to enroll Nkosi in a public school. The school wouldn't allow it because Nkosi was HIV-positive. School administrators and teachers didn't know what would happen if they let an HIV-positive child into their school. Parents didn't want their children in the same class with an HIV-infected child. At a school meeting, school administrators, teachers, and parents voted on whether or not Nkosi could attend school. The vote was half yes and half no.

Johnson took her case against the school to court and won. As a result of this case, South African schools rewrote school policies so that children with HIV/AIDS were allowed to attend public schools. The news media paid attention to this court case. Because of this attention, Nkosi and Johnson became known for their efforts to get rid of prejudices against HIV/AIDS victims.

A positive event in 1997 was the opening of a Nkosi's Haven AIDS care center. Gail Johnson and Nkosi worked hard to open this center. It was a place where mothers and their children could go if they were infected with HIV. They wanted to have a place where children were not separated from their mothers, as Nkosi had been separated from his birth mother.

Nkosi and Johnson made it their mission to educate the world about AIDS and to raise money for AIDS research. When Nkosi was eleven years old, he spoke at an international AIDS conference in South Africa. Speaking to an admiring audience of 10,000 with millions watching him on television, Nkosi explained what life was like as an AIDS sufferer. He described cruel reactions of people to those infected by the deadly disease.

"I hate having AIDS because I get very sick and I get very sad when I think of all the other children and babies that are sick with AIDS. I just wish that the government can start giving AZT to pregnant HIV mothers to help stop the virus being passed on to their babies. Babies are dying very quickly and I know one little abandoned baby who came to stay with us and his name was Micky. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't eat and was so sick and Mommy Gail had to phone welfare to have him admitted to a hospital [where] he died. But he was such a cute little baby. I think the government must start doing it because I don't want babies to die.

"Because I was separated from my mother at an early age, because we were both HIV positive, my Mommy Gail and I have always wanted to start a care center for HIV/AIDS mothers and their children. I am very happy and proud to say that the first Nkosi's Haven was opened last year. And we look after 10 mommies and 15 children. My Mommy Gail and I want to open five Nkosi's Havens by the end of next year because I want more infected mothers to stay together with their children-they mustn't be separated from their children so [here] they can be together and live longer with the love that they need."

At the end of his speech, Nkosi pleaded for compassion and more medical care for children and families dealing with AIDS.

". . . I want people to understand about AIDS, to be careful and respect AIDS. You can't get AIDS if you touch, hug, kiss, or hold hands with someone who is infected.

"Care for us and accept us—we are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else—don't be afraid of us—we are all the same!"

That same year, Nkosi delivered the same message to an AIDS meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. When he returned to South Africa, he became very ill. He had seizures and brain damage, but continued to live for several months.

In June of 2001, at the age of 12 years old, Nkosi died from effects of the AIDS disease. Many people around the world mourned the death of Nkosi. Parents who once wouldn't let their children play with Nkosi, expressed their sympathy. Nkosi will be remembered for his courageous role in trying to make the world a more understanding, more compassionate place for AIDS victims. He will also be remembered for his long struggle with the deadly disease—he was the longest living South African child born with HIV.

1.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS What do you think this last sentence means?
2.	MONITOR COMPREHENSION Summarize what you know about HIV and AIDS.
3.	INTERPRET Why do you think the community would force Nkosi and his mother to leave?
4.	INTERPRET Why do you think parents did not want their children in the same class with Nkosi?
5.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS What might be some of the reasons that a parent or teacher might vote yes of no?
6.	INTERPRET Why do you think the court ruled in favor of Nkosi's enrollment in the school?
7.	MONITOR COMPREHENSION Explain how enrolling Nkosi in a public school became a turning point in acceptance of children with HIV/AIDS.
8.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS What might AZT be?
9.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS Why is Nkosi so proud?
10.	INTERPRET Why did Nkosi say, ". . . don't be afraid of us . . ."?
11.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS What do you think is Nkosi's greatest accomplishment? Why?