Prince(ly) Pride

Prince, c. 2006

Prince, c. 2010

On Friday, I had the good fortune of attending an end-of-the-year nursery school performance. The highlight: watching young Prince shine on-stage.

I captured the scene four years ago, during one of my first forays into the community. Buoyed by two frail sticks posing as legs, Prince could barely stand as Gregg knelt to him, grieving his plight. Born to a woman marked by the Scarlet H...Prince, too, suffered the same dire fate.

Despite the fact that Prince was fortunate to have Gregg and Pride 'n Purpose as his benefactors, his health was in a state of constant fragility; his extended family either too poor to purchase medicine or ignorant of its proper usage.

Fast forward four years; Prince is now a vibrant and healthy young boy. His mother long since passed away, he was cared for by extended family until he was adopted some weeks ago by a woman in Nelspruit, who has taken in other children orphaned by AIDS. Prince is growing physically, emotionally and intellectually: he glows from great health, has a growing command of the English language and is loving his new mum.

His pride shows.