“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!”
Nkosi Johnson spoke those words at the 13th annual AIDS conference held in Durban South Africa in the year 2000. He had been infected with HIV since birth and was just eleven years old. When he died less then a year later, he had the distinction of being the longest surviving child with HIV.
Nkosi was born in a poor South African township to an AIDS infected single mom. Gail Johnson was a white South African. She was successful in public relations and was a volunteer at an AIDS care center. Her life was miles away from the life Nkosi and his mother led. But as fate would have it their paths crossed.
"I had had a graphic encounter with an AIDS death close to my family, and I wanted to do something more than just talk about it. And there was Nkosi. All I had to do was to reach out to him."
With his mothers blessing, Gail took Nkosi and became his foster mom. When it was time to register him for school she was told that he could not be accepted. After all he had AIDS. Gail wouldn’t take no for an answer and fought long and hard. She and Nkosi were victorious, paving the way for other HIV positive children to attend school in South Africa.
Before he died Nkosi asked Gail what was to become of the other infected moms and their kids. Out of that conversation Nkosi’s Haven was born. Offering holistic care and support for destitute HIV/AIDS infected mothers, their children, and resulting AIDS orphans (infected or not).
Although concerned about the stigma of HIV moms baking and selling bread, we felt there was no more deserving location then Nkosi’s Haven.
Plans were underway to open a bigger facility outside of Johannesburg with 17 resident cottages; a sickbay; a therapy block; a library; a baby daycare; workshops and classrooms a Music and Arts center; a leisure room; an upgraded kitchen; a sports field the main administrative offices and our bakery. We were proud to give the residents the ability to make fresh healthy bread but more importantly the real opportunity for building life skills. In addition the village had a new path towards economic sustainability.
Nkosi’s bakery opened on World AIDs Day, December 1,2009. It continues to feed the resident moms and their kid’s healthy whole grain bread and supplies other organizations in surrounding communities. Plans are in the works for a second bakery at Nkosi’s 4Life farm, a self-sustaining “Kabbutz” style farm for HIV/AIDS infected moms and their children.