Norbert Shayo is one of our local volunteers but before working with us he was a beneficiary of our partner organization Faraja. His mother died in 1999 and father in 2000 from AIDS infections, and sadly Norbert got his HIV from them. He has an older brother as well as a younger sister but at the time of his father’s death there wasn’t a way for them to stay in their home. They moved in with Norbert‘s uncle and aunt, but she was very discriminatory towards Norbert and his HIV. His older brother didn’t have education at the time after not scoring high enough to go on after 4th level. They were stuck living with their aunt and uncle for 2 years and a half.
Norbert started out going to Faraja after his Aunt introduced him to their programs to get resources for school. His older brother was able to be sent to school through Faraja and eventually went on to attend teacher’s college. He is now finishing his first degree in Arusha and comes down to Morogoro to visit. Norbert was a part of Faraja’s programs with other youth attending their workshops and education sessions before being introduced to YCI.
He wanted to join with us to start giving back to the community. The work the Faraja staff do was inspiring and made him want to work in NGOs, and he is now one of our local volunteers. He is an excellent translator and asset to our team. I didn't actually know Norbert even had HIV for the first few weeks we worked here and he never lets it hold him back. Even when he has been sick and not feeling well he presses on until he literally has to rest for a day and it's really inspiring, especially as someone with limitations myself. With our HBC ambassadors especially Norbert has been a fantastic help simply because he already knew most of our members and was able to communicate that much better with them I don’t know what we would have done without him and I can’t wait to see what else he will accomplish in the future.
Norbert at the office with us
Franki and Norbert - our awesome team mates!
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