When I was a young man playing professional soccer in Zimbabwe I remember the beautiful sunsets, wild animals, rich green forests, family dinners and soccer games on every street corner.

But those memories just scratched the surface. When you looked just a little bit deeper you would find: poverty, broken souls, bread lines and the devastating impact of AIDS.

I was in Zimbabwe in 1999—at the high point of the epidemic and lost friends and teammates to the disease. This was the first time I saw how one disease could destroy an entire community. I saw the pain and the suffering. I was totally and utterly overwhelmed by the problem at that time and had no idea how I could help or contribute.

A few years later, when I was on the popular reality TV show Survivor Africa, I had the experience of visiting and playing soccer with a group of kids living with HIV at a local hospital. Their hope and joy and their love for the game of soccer inspired me. That experience made me realize that I actually did have something to offer in the fight against AIDS: my love for soccer.

Soon after being on Survivor, I joined forces with some of my former teammates to co-found Grassroot Soccer—a development organization dedicated to using the power of soccer to fight AIDS.

Not surprisingly, this simple yet powerful tool – soccer or “football” as some of you call it—has turned out to be an incredibly effective way to motivate and engage young people and communities to turn the tide against this disease.

Personally, I have been battling a rare form of cancer for the past five years. There have been many times during my fight against cancer when I experienced feelings of hopelessness similar to what I felt in Zimbabwe in 1999.

I’m in a very unique situation because my perspective on health and philanthropy has been forever changed. I’ve seen it clearly from both sides now. Unfortunately, I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of a horrible life threatening diagnosis. And fortunately, I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of charitable causes.

Today, when hopelessness tries to creep in—I always remind myself of my own experience with Grassroot Soccer—that the tools are out there just waiting to be discovered, and the problems that seem impossible to solve are not.