My name is Yehor, and I’m from Kryvyi Rih. My early childhood was carefree and joyful. At six, I found myself riding a motorcycle with my grandfather behind me, helping shift gears. My summer days were spent tinkering and fixing things with him, instilling a knack for handiness that stayed with me.

In 2008, when I was 8 years old, my life began to take drastic turns. My mom died of lymphadenopathy, a disease of the lymph nodes. A few years later, in 2013, my father and I were diagnosed with HIV. We then understood that my mom had died because of AIDS. I was born in 2000 when HIV testing for children wasn't a common practice.

My initial reaction to my diagnosis was strangely calm. As a 13-year-old I didn’t know much about HIV or AIDS. Fortunately, a couple of Google searches helped me to find people's stories and I realized there was a way forward. I started telling everyone at school, and in a way, I was even proud of it. Unfortunately, once my HIV status became public, many of my friends’ parents began to persuade them to not communicate with me.

When I first started antiretroviral therapy, I struggled with the treatment. I experienced exhaustion, confusion, and attempted to hide the pills from the nurses. Eventually, my favorite doctor told me, “You have to take the pills. Be patient, and everything will be fine." She was right. The treatment got easier. Now I take a single pill daily, a far cry from the initial eight-pill routine.

Since my dad died when I was still young, I’m the only remaining member of my immediate family. I’ve had to continue navigating life driven by my passion for advocacy and service to my country.

Along my journey, I’ve met incredible people like Yana Panfilova, the founder of Teenergizer, I’ve participated in the Peace Corps, and I’ve spoken publicly about my HIV status in television interviews and conferences across various countries. Presently, I’m doing everything I can to support my country during the ongoing war.

Although I’m not allowed to serve in the military because of my HIV-positive status, I’ve found other ways to help. I’ve helped to train military units using airsoft to simulate real-life scenarios and I stream games on Twitch to collect donations for the Armed Forces.

Today, my hope for the future is simple: survival, for myself and my friends at the front. To achieve this, I know we have to fight back. When you are a Cossack and your destiny is Ukrainian, and you understand our long history, you realize we can’t lose. We will always fight back.