My name is Sungano Bondayi, I was born in 1989 in Zimbabwe, and I was born with HIV.

In 2005, I was fortunate enough to join an amazing organisation working with young people living with HIV called Africaid-Zvandiri. A few years later, I was given an opportunity to join a storytelling project along with five other adolescents.

At the selection meeting we were asked if we wanted to tell our story through digital media. My mother passed away in 1996 and my father in 2004. After that I was looked after by my siblings, my elder sister was both my father and mother. Back then I used to keep things bottled up but this was a way for me to speak up about what I really felt, especially about losing my father.

In my culture you do not really talk about grief and the people you have lost. But how could I not talk about the greatest man ever to grace this earth, my SHIELD! I decided I wanted to talk about it, and I still find opportunities to talk about it, whenever I can. With support, we stand strong!

Here is my story:

Sungano Bondayi, from Zimbabwe, is a member of the Key Correspondents network which focuses on marginalised groups affected by HIV, to report the health and human rights stories that matter to them. The network is supported by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.