Kagai*, 11, knows the pain of discrimination. Both his parents died of AIDS and he is living with HIV himself. Still, this brave Kenyan boy is hopeful it won’t be long before a cure for AIDS is found.

Kagai lives with his grandmother, Sophia, who does her best to support him on a small income. Daily life is a difficult struggle in their community of Voi, where one in four people is living with HIV and where stigma, discrimination, and extreme poverty are rife.

Kagai is in Grade 3 where he has a few friends to lean on, but his attendance is irregular and many of the children are cruel.

"There are many incidents where Kagai has come home and from the look on his face you could notice that something was amiss," Kagai’s aunt says. "Two weeks ago a boy provoked him by telling him he was useless and his parents had died of AIDS and he was going to follow soon."

It is a heartbreaking situation, especially for someone so young. And yet there is hope. Kagai’s health is better now that he has access to anti-retroviral medication. He is an avid soccer player and fan of the English club, Arsenal. He hopes to be a truck driver one day.

People in his community are starting to understand the importance of compassion, and World Vision’s program on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV helps ensure that fewer children will have to suffer.