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The whole world in our hands
A spotlight shines persistently on Africa, more often than not illuminating the horrors of famine, civil war, corruption and oppression. This summer the spotlight shone for a more palatable reason: the greatest show on Earth had come to Africa in the shape of the football World Cup.
There was much joy, much razzmatazz and some outstanding sporting endeavour on the playing fields of South Africa, but the story did not stray from the usual script - it was the Europeans who went away with the spoils. And after the streamers had been cleared away, the vuvuzelas fallen silent and the nets taken down, one question remains to be answered about the World Cup: what will be its legacy for Africans - specifically, disadvantaged people living in the host nation? Will they experience tangible change and investment in their daily lives as a result of the showpiece tournament?
The problem is that Africa is used to stars visiting, light bulbs flashing and stars leaving. But there is one star whose genuine commitment to building something tangible for Africa and Africans cannot be called into question. Annie is as big a star as they come, her stellar music career needs no introduction, but it is her determination to address the difficult and complex issue of HIV in South Africa that has brought light into previously shadowed lives.
"I will never forget Avelile, a little girl we encountered in a hospital in the eastern cape of South Africa," Annie told Teaching Scotland.
"Avelile was seven years old and had been born with HIV. Her mother had died from AIDS-related illness and Avelile was now suffering from pneumonia and full-blown AIDS. She was desperately sick, weighing almost the same as a one-year-old baby."
It was donations from Annie's Sing campaign, set up to address HIV and AIDS issues in South Africa, that started to change what would have been a very dark and agonising future for Avelile.
"The doctors gave her a special nutritious diet, antibiotics and anti-retroviral treatment, but it looked uncertain whether she would survive," continued Annie. "Five months later we went back to visit her and were bowled over to see the remarkable transformation that had taken place. She had turned from a virtual skeleton back to the healthy, plump-faced little girl that she always should have been.
"The contrast was breathtaking and this goes to prove that good nutrition combined with treatment actually saves lives if people can get access to them in time. Avelile is alive today because of this."
Annie started the Sing campaign after witnessing Nelson Mandela describing the African HIV pandemic as genocide, with women and children becoming the frontline victims. South Africa has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates, and a third of all pregnant women are HIV positive. Many still do not have access to the medication and support that can prevent mothers passing the virus to their unborn babies.
The money raised by Sing helps prevent the spread of HIV in South Africa, and also supports those currently living with HIV. Comic Relief helps manage the Sing fund, and assists in co-ordinating its campaign. In more than three years it has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to lessen the grip that HIV has on South Africa.
Annie was born on Christmas Day in Aberdeen. Her father worked at a shipyard and her mother was a cook. Annie was an only child and the family lived in a small, two-roomed apartment in a block of flats. She attended Aberdeen High School for Girls, now Harlaw Academy, and in the 1970s Annie won a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied the flute and classical music for three years. From there she went on to be the lead singer in The Tourists before forming Eurythmics with Dave Stewart. Her stunning success is now part of the pantheon of popular music.
Many Scottish people have featured in the history of Africa with Scottish women making a major contribution. The Scottish missionary Mary Slessor, also born in Aberdeen, is among the best known.
But Annie says that her own education in the north-east of Scotland was not the best preparation for the wider world.
"I think it fell a little short. My school years were from the late 1950s right up to the start of the 1970s - a time span that has little comparison to the age of instant internet and mobile phone connection. Technology has had a massive global influence since then.
"My real education began when I started travelling and I started to get a sense of the texture and flavour of different countries and cultures. I'm so grateful for what I consider to be those life-enriching experiences."
It was some of those experiences with the Sing campaign in Africa that Annie feels has changed her perspective on life and even her personality. "Until I had the opportunity to witness the HIV/AIDS pandemic as it plays out directly, I hadn't been fully aware of how the unimaginable scale of devastation was destroying the lives of millions of women and children.
"That personal experience came as a huge wake-up call to me, and my world view has changed significantly since. Now I fully realise how fortunate I've been to have always had access to the things that I took more for granted before.
"I feel immensely grateful, and I am committed to putting time and energy into doing whatever I can to contribute to making a difference. There is hardly a day goes by when I'm not doing something connected to the HIV/AIDS issue and the Sing campaign."
HIV is so stigmatised in Africa that people are afraid to talk openly about it. But through her travels, Annie became aware that South Africa has a tradition of singing activist songs as a way to create solidarity and communicate messages. So she chose Sing as the inspirational name for the campaign.
"When people get together to sing, they become encouraged and inspired," said Annie. "In the words of Nelson Mandela, 'Let us use the universal language of music, to sing out our message around the world."
As one of the world's most respected singer-songwriters, Annie decided to write an anthem that could be used as a tool of unity and empowerment, and help spread the HIV/AIDS message to the world.
In the spring of 2007, she invited 23 of the most internationally acclaimed female artists to record their voices on 'Sing'. The recording incorporates the South African activist song 'Jikelele', which means global treatment. 'Jikelele' was written and recorded by The Generics, who are all members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the main beneficiary of Sing funds. Eighty per cent of TAC members are women. 'Jikelele' calls for the implementation of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme across South Africa.
"I'm passionate about the rights and empowerment of women, as women are the mothers, carers and nurturers of all the children of the world," continued Annie.
"I want to see more respect, appreciation and protection of my gender, especially those who are exposed to constant violation and abuse at all levels as a result of chronic and endemic poverty."
Global citizenship has been a key theme in Scottish schools recently, with many young people developing projects with schools in Africa and learning more about the issues facing that continent. Annie is a firm believer in the importance of a global education offering children a wider and deeper understanding of the world.
"From my perspective, we are all global citizens. I realise that I could have been born into any given situation with regard to race, gender, culture, creed or economic standing, therefore I tend to take that into account and try to be inclusive in my thinking with regard to others."
Although it is way down the list of things that motivate Annie, she has been recognised for her work with the Sing campaign by those who know what it takes to truly commit to helping change lives.
In 2009 Annie was given the 'Woman of Peace' award by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and she was also awarded the Freedom of the City of London by the Red Cross in December of last year. This year she was made a UNAIDS ambassador, and a special envoy for the Scottish branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association charged with reporting back to the Scottish Parliament on the issues of HIV/AIDS across Africa.
But how do children in Scotland view the HIV/AIDS issue in Africa and how can they contribute to the goals of the Sing campaign?
"I think that children can be very considerate and empathetic when they realise that there is a huge disparity between the lives of Western people and their counterparts in developing countries.
"Injustice is something they respond to very naturally. I love it when kids become inspired to think beyond themselves," said Annie.
"Adult educators can facilitate, develop and inspire the raising of awareness. I also love it when schools in the UK become partners with schools in Africa as these collaborations can nourish the seeds of inquiry about what 'fundamental human rights' are with regard to health, education, employment, protection, values and so on.
"We can do so much, both collectively and individually in order to create positive change and transformation."
Not every star who visits Africa leaves after the vuvuzelas fall silent and the flash bulbs rest. Annie has committed years of time, energy and the force of her personality to make a real difference to the people of South Africa.
Hers is a song that will continue to sing for many years to come.
Annie Lennox - milestones
- Born 25 December 1954 in Aberdeen.
- Attends Aberdeen High School for Girls and then the Royal Academy of Music in London.
- Member of pop group The Tourists before forming Eurythmics with Dave Stewart.
- Singles 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Here Comes The Rain Again' make Annie a major star.
- Launches debut solo album 'Diva' in 1992, with hits singles including 'Why' and 'Walking On Broken Glass'.
- Named 'The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive' by VH1 and one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.
- Named UN Goodwill Ambassador for AIDS in June 2010.
- August 2010 - gives GTC Scotland National Lecture at the Scottish Parliament.