Noah is one of the millions of HIV-positive children worldwide, but his story is one of a kind. In June of 2008, Noah had no idea his life was about to change. Leigh Blake, who, with Alicia Keys, co-founded Keep A Child Alive (KCA), one of the most influential HIV/AIDS fundraising organizations, had traveled to Kigali, Rwanda to visit one of the many clinics KCA supports. After her work was done at the clinic, Leigh paid visits to a few patients' homes, one of which turned out to be Noah's. At the time Noah was surviving on one bowl of porridge a day. But despite his emaciated frame, Leigh saw something vibrant in his eyes so she asked him what his biggest dream in life was. "I want to record an album of my music," he told her. Leigh, a veteran of the music industry, was intrigued and asked if he would perform.
Here he was in the slums of Kigali dreaming such an enormous dream," Leigh recalls. "He was someone with so little access to popular culture, really almost none at all. But as soon as he started rapping, I saw he had it-the talent and the intensity to be a star- and I knew I had to find a way make his dream come true." Noah first became interested in rap music when he was 8-years-old and heard a classmate rapping in French. He remembers asking himself why he couldn't do it too and decided to teach himself. While he didn't have a radio, CD player or any other way to access or record his music, he says he kept the music in his head, thinking about it constantly.
At that first meeting, Leigh invited Noah to perform at Keep A Child Alive's Annual Fundraiser, The Black Ball in New York City, an a-list gala, and he accepted enthusiastically, though probably didn't believe her. Â Leigh kept her word and three months later he was on his way.
When Noah arrived in the US, he went straight to producer Swizz Beatz's recording studio where he had his first taste of recording. Then, he met Alicia Keys, KCA's co-founder, and one of Noah's favorite artists. "Here I was in America, where anything is possible," he recalls. Finally, Noah performed his rap "Brothers" at the Black Ball. The audience, including Alicia Keys, Bono, Padma Lakshmi, Tyra Banks, Queen Latifah erupted. "The whole thing was like a dream," Noah remembers.
Perhaps most importantly, American Idol's creator, Simon Fuller, was also at the Black Ball and was so impressed by Noah that he dedicated himself to making his dream come true. Noah returned to Rwanda, bringing back an iPod and other gifts that he shared with his friends. Most importantly, he brought back hope to a place where it is desperately needed. "My Grandmother wants me to live in America now but says never to forget about her, and to send money back," he says. Today through his music and his appearance on American Idol, Noah has the power to transform not only his life and the lives of his family, but the futures of millions of people with HIV. Thanks to the life-saving medication and care provided by KCA with the support of American Idol's audience, he can prove that HIV is not a death sentence for the millions of children infected by the disease, and that dreams really do come true.
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Source: American Idol
