2005 Essay Contest - 1st Place - 12 and Under

By Emerald Wong

When my mother shared a newspaper article with me about an orphan in Africa whose parents died of AIDS, I couldn’t take my eyes off the photo of the girl, who was about my age. The photo in the Boston Globe showed a young girl of 11 crying in front of a wall, her face twisted and distorted, with her head hung heavy on her shoulders as if she carried the weight of the world. My mom told me that this girl looked exactly like me when I cry. She was right. It was striking. Even though the girl was African with dark skin, and I am Asian with yellow skin, we did seem so similar. My heart sank. It was her face, the face of anguish. She was alone in the world, her family ravaged by AIDS. Her face held my attention hauntingly. Pain is something we all know when we see it. I couldn’t turn away.

I snatched the paper out of her hands and devoured the article voraciously. I couldn’t read fast enough, choking back the tears. Her mother had just died of AIDS. She and her two younger siblings slept in the same bed with their mother. They were a loving, close-knit family who had very little but each other. Her father had already died of AIDS.

I wanted to do something instantly to help her. I fantasized that maybe we could adopt her, since my family had adopted me, too. I fantasized that I could share my home and bedroom with her, and we could become sisters. However, we learned that her best friend’s family had offered her a place in their home. But how many others were just like her, yet not as fortunate?

CBS News reported on April 1, 2005, that “more than 80 million Africans may die from AIDS by 2025,” according to a report released by the United Nations. They added that “HIV infections could soar to 90 million – more than 10 percent of Africa’s population – if more isn’t done soon to fight the pandemic.” “UNAIDS estimates the number of AIDS orphans could grow from the current 11 million to 27 million by 2025 without greater action and funding.”

How can I help? The eyes of every citizen of the world must open so that they can see what I have seen. Everyone recognizes pain. This is the world’s problem, not just an African problem, and there must be a solution involving the whole world. Children can bring about positive change. We can be victims, but we can also be agents of change and give hope for a better future. We can talk to anyone who will listen, and we can raise funds by collecting pocket change, conducting sports and music performathons, and mobilizing adults to act now. We can be a formidable force because we have the most at stake. We can create the world in which we want to live. I believe if children and adults work together, with God’s help, no problem is insurmountable.