The HIV and AIDS Indaba could have been any old conference with a lot of talk and decisions made on behalf of people who were not there. But when I walked into the venue, the sight I beheld took my breath away. Sitting nearly chest-to-chest with ministers and NGO heads was a swathe of schoolchildren, uniforms neatly ironed and faces fixed in serious expressions. They made up about half the audience. But they weren't there to sit and listen. They were there to speak.
"We would also like the packaging for ARVs to be improved. It makes us young people afraid to take them in school" #myvoiceindaba
-- Siyanda Mohutsiwa (@SiyandaWrites) April 13, 2016
"We need better condoms. We need condoms that don't smell bad and are easy to find without us being judged by older people."
Her face remained calm in the face of an audience of her elders that had gone silent and tense.
I let out a breath -- had I been holding it all along? -- and the students in the audience rose to her rescue with an enthusiastic applause.
In Swazi culture, this is simply not done. Students - children -- do not stand before adults and speak with such audacity, particularly not in the presence of royalty (the first princess was in the room). I will forever be moved by their courage.
But it was not just the volley of complaints: "Young girls are chased by old men and many of them have no choice but to submit." "How can we get guidance when our parents are never around and our teachers don't teach life skills?".
It was what came after.
"I am happy to hear the students telling us the truth about their needs," said a representative of the Ministry of Health. "We are coming up with an age-appropriate, evidence-based, culturally sensitive program for teaching life-skills in all schools in Swaziland.