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Princess Zulu Visits Seahawks Academy

By Sue Nolan

SEATTLE, May 14, 2003 — Life hasn’t been easy for eighth-grader Lawrina, but earlier this month her heart was joined with a Zambian woman whose years also have been riddled with challenges. Speaking before more than 60 students at the Seahawks Academy in Seattle, Princess Zulu of Zambia unveiled the story of how AIDS took her parents, and then infected her.




After Princess Zulu shared, Lawrina, a talented and healthy teenager, read a poem she recently penned for Princess Zulu:

"…Lord, I am waiting on a blessing
For when I die
I won’t be dead, I will be resting.
My soul is not diseased
But my flesh is.
The soul is pure
For You are my cure."

Lawrina and Princess Zulu share a hug after the students presented Zulu with flowers, thanking her for sharing about her life. “I’d never been around a person like her. I loved her presentation!” exclaimed Lawrina.

Princess Zulu, who shared her story as part of World Vision’s Hope Tour, has firsthand knowledge of the devastation caused by AIDS. Her parents died from the disease when Zulu was 14. She became sexually active at a young age and found herself pregnant at 17. As a result, she dropped out of school and married early. In 1997, at the age of 21, Zulu discovered that she was HIV-positive.


In her presentation to the students, Zulu, now 27, stressed the importance of sexual abstinence and pursuing an education. "Abstinence is 100 percent (effective). No one was ever admitted to a hospital for abstinence," she said. "But people are admitted for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS."

Zulu asked the students not to repeat her mistakes. "AIDS is not just in Africa, but also here in America," she said. "You are blessed. You have so much. Stay in school. Abstain from sex," she told the students.

The Seahawks Academy is a public school in Seattle where many students have their own stories of adversity. Nearly three-quarters of the school’s students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches, a standard measure of poverty. Less than one-quarter live with both parents. Some are or have been homeless. Most students have not succeeded at traditional schools, and come to the Seahawks Academy looking for unconditional nurturing, respect, and love in a small, safe environment. The school serves youth in grades six through nine.

Students prepared for Princess Zulu’s visit by learning about Zambia and the issue of HIV/AIDS. The poem Lawrina wrote was one of her classroom assignments. Students also prepared questions to ask Zulu about her country and her experience with AIDS. They sat in rapt attention as they listened intently to her answers.

After Princess Zulu’s presentation, she assisted in handing out awards to the academy’s Students of the Week. The auditorium reverberated with the students’ imitation of the special Zambian howl Zulu taught them to use in place of applause.


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