Thabo Mbeki once said that he didn't know anyone who had died of Aids. Lucky him. I know I do.

I can't remember the exact moment, but the first time I heard of HIV/Aids, I was in my late primary school years. I first heard of the disease at school and it really shook me.

I didn't know much about it, but I knew how it was transmitted and that there was no cure for it. Following that, people came to my school to tell us more and more about the disease.

Back at home it was still a taboo issue. The grown-ups had names that they used to define it. You hardly ever heard a grown up using the A-word. It was called "lentwi phandle apha" — meaning: something that's outside — and they would lower their voices when talking about it.

Later on, young people started coming out about their status and TV encouraged people to talk about it. My mother sat me down when I was 13 years old and told me about it. But not in so many words. She said: "Well, my girl, if you have sex you will get Aids and it will kill you." That was it, but at least it was called by its rightful name.

The first time I saw someone dying of Aids I told myself that whatever happens in the future I will do everything in my power to remain negative.

I have seen people, who we grew up envying because they had "style", die of Aids. These people were born in the mid 80s. They were around when LoveLife had its campaigns. These campaigns were in both English and isiXhosa (our mother tongue), so language was no barrier.

I was really shocked to learn that seven million South Africans are living with the disease and that the 15 – 24 year age-group accounts for 34 percent of all new infections.

This group has had the advantage of education. They understand what it means to have HIV. These people can read and they carry cell phones that have radios on them. Every radio station tackles the HIV/Aids issue.

I refuse to believe that as a nation we are not doing enough. We've had so many HIV/Aids activists — Thembi Ngubeni, Nkosi Johnson, Edwin Cameron, to name but a few, have all come out and warned the nation about the disease. They've done everything in their power to educate society, but their attempts have been in vain.

The government may be lacking in many ways, but their campaigns are clear on the issue. If you are not using protection, then you are sleeping with everyone else that your partner is sleeping or has slept with. That's the long and the short of it.

According to Society for Family Health, 80 percent of South Africans use condoms, but only 62 percent use them consistently.

Judging from this statistic, people understand the importance of condoms and are aware of the dangers of unprotected sex, but choose to have it anyway. The problem, it would seem, lies not with a lack of education, but rather with a wilful disregard of it.

We are the Google generation with information at our fingertips, but no one bothers to read about HIV/Aids. We choose to believe myths and make excuses so that we don't have take responsibility for our unjustifiable actions.

This says a lot about us. If we really valued ourselves we'd take better care and stop living recklessly.

We can't blame the government for our behaviour. No amount of money can solve the HIV/Aids problem if we continue to live on the edge. You may not think much of yourself, but what about those who love you? No parent wants to see their child ravaged by Aids. No child deserves to see their parent succumb to Aids. And no one has the right to put their partner's life at risk.

HIV/Aids can happen to anyone — whether you're rich, poor, homosexual, heterosexual, white, black, young or old. Nkosi Johnson once said: "I want people to understand about Aids, to be careful and respect Aids."

South Africans must learn to respect HIV/Aids — we are destroying ourselves and we need to own up and take responsibility by making the right choices.

It all boils down to self-respect — if you respect yourself you'd never put yourself at risk knowing the consequences. Respect your partner by protecting them. The message hasn't changed: if you're sexually active, be faithful and always use protection. Most importantly, know your status.