Zinhle Thabethe
Thabethe is a young AIDS activist who has become known for her eagerness to unpack and explain the messages of AIDS education and awareness. Her focus has been to demonstrate, as an HIV-positive person herself, that understanding the disease is the most effective way to beat it.
Thabethe is one of the lead singers in the internationally-acclaimed HIV-positive choir called Sinikithemba – “we give hope.” And hope is the core of her message. Born into poverty, she became an AIDS counselor after she herself was educated about what is expected of AIDS patients.
She was named as one 10 National Geographic Emerging Explorers, a group of ‘visionaries’ who are each seen to have contributed to world knowledge. She is also a deputy director of iTeach, an HIV/Aids-focused educational and solution-seeking programme.
