Nape's Space

Stephen Lewis, Secretary General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa

Photo by Nicole Toutounji, UNICEF





It is of great pleasure to discover that Stephen Lewis will be coming to Orillia on October 16th to speak at the Orillia Opera House. Stephen Lewis is an embodiment of the Canadian identity and a role model for all the globe’s citizens. Stephen Lewis is known for being a politician and a diplomat. His career includes the post of Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1984-1988 and the U.N Special Advisor on Africa to aid in "the mobilization of the international community." Most recently, Mr. Lewis was appointed as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, a position in which he continues to work tirelessly. This October Stephen Lewis will be coming to Orillia to speak and raise funds on behalf of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, a foundation that seeks to give a voice and to assist the most vulnerable victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic...women and children.

I recall the first time I heard Stephen Lewis speak. It was at my Undergraduate graduation at the University of Western Ontario. I had just completed my Honours degree in International and Comparative Studies and was contemplating studying my Masters in Development Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. There was something telling me inside that studying in Tanzania was a good decision. After all it would provide me with valuable experience that I needed to work in the Third World. However, I could not dismiss that uncertainty that accompanies such a big decision in life. Then Stephen Lewis approached the podium.

Stephen Lewis’ words resonated a sense of urgency and importance that struck me to the core like a bolt of lightning. Never before that moment have the words of a speaker impacted me so profoundly. Stephen Lewis was able to convey to his audience the unimaginable realities of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in a way that empowered us rather than leaving us disillusioned. He encouraged us to be active participants in the creation of a more just and compassionate world. Personally, Stephen Lewis instilled in me a sense of duty…a duty to myself, to my family and friends and a duty to those whom I had yet to meet. Others in the audience were similarly impacted as I could hear discussions go on long after he had finished speaking. By the time he had finished speaking my decision to study my Masters in Tanzania had been made. It was no longer a matter of “if”, but a matter of “how”. My excuses for not going had been washed away and my mind immediately set to the task of planning for my next two years in Tanzania. Stephen Lewis certainly helped facilitate one of the greatest and most rewarding decisions I have ever made in my life. And for that I thank him and encourage you to take the time to share his life’s work with you.

For HIV/AIDS information regarding Sub-Saharan Africa and more information regarding the Stephen Lewis Foundation, I urge you to visit the website first-hand. http://stephenlewisfoundation.org/.