12-year-old Elijah Zachary Lamaiyan Sime, a student at Lamaiyan Academy in Nairobi received a standing ovation from hundreds of delegates after delivering the opening remarks at a United Nations conference on Aids on Sunday. “We are children, we have rights, we have a future,”.
Elijah told the UN event on Ending AIDS by 2030 that was co-chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“Presidents, thank you for making the promise to end Aids by 2030. Please keep your promise,” he said.
Elijah added that an essential step in combatting the epidemic is to erase the stigma attached to those with HIV.
“The mother of my best friend told him not to play with me and that made me very sad”
He said his dream is to have earned a doctorate in science by 2030, when he will be 27 years old.