This is me

In the Greatest Showman’s original song ‘This is Me’, a group of people who have been stigmatised and isolated from society fight back, saying I am bruised, I am battered, but I won’t let that get me down, because I am glorious. This is Me.

‘This is Me’ resonates so closely with our own life experiences as young people from Zimbabwe whose lives have been changed by HIV. We have faced so many challenges growing up – stigma, isolation, hopelessness and fear for our future – but we have learned to cope, love and accept ourselves as we are. This is Me.

With the generous permission of the original writers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and Kobalt and Fox Music, we have covered this song in our own unique, Zimbabwean, Zvandirian way. We came together as a group of young people from the Zvandiri programme in Zimbabwe, with support from other local singers, dancers and artists. Zvandiri means ‘as I am – this is me’. We had never sung, never danced and never performed before. We auditioned and were selected to be part of this production. Please watch and enjoy as we celebrate who we are.