Princess Kasune Zulu

So I was reading a few articles on Health.com today and found the stories of several women that really touched my heart... so there'll be a few postings today! How excited are you?!

Some of you at Bethel may have met her when she was on campus last year, I did, and I'm regretting it now as I read her story. Princess Kasune Zulu is from Zambia, Africa and is HIV positive. Ever since she found out that she was a part of the epidemic devistating Africa, she knew she had to take action. A quote from an article about her at Health.com had this to say:

"Zulu went straight to the people who are believed to be aiding and abetting the virus— truck drivers who have sex with prostitutes and then return to their wives. For almost a year she visited truck stops and hitchhiked along Zambia’s main highways, talking to men about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. To reach a larger audience, Zulu started a radio program, called Positive Living and broadcast from Lusaka, the Zambian capital. Each week, she invites experts to talk about subjects ranging from new drug therapies to the customs that have helped fuel the epidemic. When a man dies in Zambia, for example, his property traditionally passes to his brother, leaving the wife destitute; many women are forced to offer sex for money just to survive. “In a poor country like mine, many women don’t have the option to say no. That must change,” says Zulu, whose radio program is broadcast in English and translated into seven different local languages. “Words are powerful. They are one of the strongest weapons we have against this disease.”

I was, and am still shocked by her action. I doubt I'd have the courage to hitch hike to talk to truck drivers, and do the things she did. She has taken her burden and done the only thing she knew to do, try to prevent it from happening to others. She could have done nothing, like most do, she could have spread it and not gave it a second thought, but she did, she gave it a second, a third, a fourth and more. For these reasons she inspires me. Take a look at these sites and see if her story touches you like it does me.

This article on her is a great account of her life and work.
She also works very closely with World Vision.