Before he became an instant celebrity for winning Survivor Africa, CAMPUSPEAK co-speaker Ethan Zohn played soccer professionally for teams in both the United States and Zimbabwe. He thought his previous experience in Africa would help him on the reality show, but it didn't really give him an edge he said.
It did remind him of the tremendous problems facing most African countries in terms of poverty, corrupt governments and most devastatingly, the AIDS crisis. After this reminder, when it came time to decide what to do with his newly acquired million and his fifteen minutes of fame, Ethan's decision was easy.
In Africa, the most popular sport by far is soccer. Since Ethan has experience in that arena, he decided to use his money and notoriety to help provide AIDS education, using African role models — soccer players — to teach children about HIV and AIDS. Ethan donated the money he won for this cause.
Now this inspirational speaker and person is putting his character and survival to the test. He's was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in April and went public with his diagnosis in May. Keeping the positive attitude he has shown ever since vowing to "inspire and educate people" through his ordeal, Zohn, 35, lets the camera roll as he enters "the chemo zone," and takes viewers behind the curtain as a doctor puts a needle in his chest and he downs a cup full of pills – jokingly calling them "Skittles, M&Ms and Tic-Tacs."
Our thoughts and prayers go to Ethan during this difficult time. You can receive updates and follow his progress on People magazines, people.com. The link is below.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20289066,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines
