ONE OF the undetected ills within our society is the inability to identify, to appreciate and to accord praise where it is highly deserved.

ONE OF the undetected ills within our society is the inability to identify, to appreciate and to accord praise where it is highly deserved.

I am uncertain as to why this persists. Is it due to the fact that all of us are running around trying to make a living? Perhaps no one really deserves our collective acknowledgement as a country and citizens perched on the southern tip of the world.

Living with HIV for more than 18 years is not child's play. As I have always maintained, I could not have done it alone. This is precisely the reason why a I am always reminded of the selfless role that other people have played in ensuring that I continue to lead a successful, productive and positive live.

In return, my commitment to the wellness of all my people, particularly distressed children, will always be unchallengeable.

So allow me to express my sincere gratitude to every person, scientist and doctor who has dedicated his-her life to finding the elusive vaccine and, of course, a cure for this parasitic virus.

All over the world there are learned friends who stand countless hours, days, months, years and decades silently working themselves to death (pun intended) to ensure that those of us who are infected with HIV continue to lead comfortable and relatively manageable lives.

As we speak, many people's lives have been saved on the brink of the terrifying shadow of death owing to various types of medicines, including anti-retroviral treatment that they have discovered.

These professionals work tirelessly and silently. They invest invaluable time and expertise in trying to break this dangerous chain of death, despair and trauma.

These professionals silently share in our excruciating pain and every recorded death is an agonising inspiration for them to sacrifice even more.

These people, the scientists, my learned friends, have become strangers to their own families because they are wholeheartedly engaged in a justified war to safe lives.

My life and yours depend on the knowledge, the commitment, the time, patience and wisdom of all scientists who are united in prayer and solemnly believe in their ability to save the lives of all undernourished and sickly children around the globe.

Ladies and gentlemen, to each and every one of you, I humbly wish to shout at the top of my infected voice so that the highest mountain can crumble and the deepest ocean spill over.

I want to thank you unreservedly from the bottom of my scarred and bruised heart.

In all your endeavours, though you might not succeed in my lifetime, there is no shadow of doubt that you are the unsung heroes and heroines of humanity.

And if I live, as I hope to see the day when a cure is found, I will never forget your selflessness, your sacrifice and your undying will to succeed.