“My name is Richard Brodsky. In 1997 I was diagnosed HIV-positive. I
was married at the time, an architect, a marathon runner and my wife, Jodi, and I had three teenage daughters. We were going to keep our story a secret
because we were living a very respectable life by society’s standard. But then Jodi and I realized that if all HIV-positive people kept their silly secret,
Americans would be dropping like flies from an undisclosed illness. This actually does happen in Kenya and much of Africa where the stigma of being
HIV-positive is far worse than it is in America. Public officials in Africa never die from AIDS; it’s always from some undisclosed
illness.

From 1998-2002, I continued running marathons and living a typical
life in the suburbs. Considering that I had been running marathons for years, and I ran my fastest marathon after being diagnosed HIV-positive, it was my
hope that other people could realize that AIDS need not be a death sentence; AIDS sufferers simply needed access to the AIDS medicine and to lead a healthy
lifestyle.

I finally came out and told my story in 2002. Reactions were mixed and
I took it in stride, well, not exactly. I caught a bad break in November, 2002 as I was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. My cancer had nothing to do
with my HIV. On November 27, 2002 my brain tumor was substantially removed and, on the second anniversary of the tumor being removed, Jodi and I were flying
to Africa to participate in the first World AIDS Marathon, an event I organized. Poverty was rampant. I then realized that all the AIDS medicine in the world
would only make a small dent in the number of deaths from AIDS. Here was a continent that lacked clean drinking water, an adequate food supply, and the
medical care we take for granted in America.

With all the AIDS Awareness out there, especially spearheaded by the
ONE Campaign, how is it that less than 1% of the people I’ve questioned are aware of the fact that there are 14,000,000 orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa
who have lost one or both parents to AIDS!?”

-Richard, member of the ONE Campaign, Atlantic Beach,
NY

Check back over the next couple of weeks for more ONE members’ stories.
And if you haven’t already told us how you first found your commitment to eliminate global AIDS and extreme poverty, send us your story.