I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, a powerful new work of photojournalism documenting the AIDS pandemic in southern Africa. This new collection by award-winning photographer Kristen Ashburn, a companion piece to Madonna's documentary film   by the same title, takes an intimate look into the lives of seven of the 1 million Malawian children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Make sure to catch the film if you can, which runs on the Sundance channel until December 17.

The title is derived from the concept of “Ubuntu,” an idea in African spirituality that states that all of humanity is connected, that we cannot be ourselves without community, that an individual’s well-being is dependent upon the well-being of others. 

These heart-wrenching stories are a call to action. In Malawi, a country of 13 million people, over one million are orphans. Looking into the hearts and minds of children who have endured unimaginable suffering, the book provides an unflinching view of life at the center of the global AIDS crisis. This is not just a story about orphans in Malawi, but about global responsibility and human interconnectedness. 


All author proceeds will go directly to Raising Malawi, a non-profit dedicated to providing community-based assistance to Malawian children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Pre-order  I Am Because We Are NOW!