Triumphing over HIV, the story of Charles Obonyo who has lived with HIV for 32 years
Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice it is said, but Charles Obonyo is among the few who can testify to have twice faced tragedy and triumphed.
When you walk into the waiting bay at the Langalanga Sub-County hospital, you will see Charles crisscrossing the benches filled with patients.
On one end, he will be talking about the new services being offered at this public hospital that serves 33,000 people in Nakuru East Constituency. Then he will proceed to another end and speak with clients who have come to access HIV treatment.
Charles has been living with HIV for more than three decades and he has made it public.
“I have been living with HIV for the last 32 years and I have been working here as a community health volunteer for the last 13 years. I serve as mentor-father for those living with HIV,” he says.
For Charles, working with discordant couples (partners where one is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative) is his forte since he is also living in such a relationship. His wife of 13 years is HIV-negative and they have six children.
“When I started dating my wife, I told her about my HIV status from the onset and she was okay with it. I really thank God for her although at first, she thought I was joking when I told her I was HIV positive,” he adds.
The two of them are still vividly in love, as seen in the glances they steal at each other, Irene smiles every time Charles leans into her ear in the course of this interview.
“I wanted us to get tested first together for me to prove that he wasn’t lying to me. I recall one woman asking me if I knew about Charles’ HIV status and I told her yes, I’d rather live with someone whose HIV I know than not know all, says Irene.
However, in 2012, Charles was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, which was a huge shock for him and his family.
“ For a moment I thought it’s the HIV that brought the Cancer, but the doctors counselled me and told me it was not related and I am glad I underwent treatment and now I am in remission,” he quips
Mental Health in HIV treatment and care has been neglected aspect, but in 2021, UNAids proposed the integration of Mental Health in HIV treatment, saying people living with HIV have an increased risk of mental health conditions with data showing that people living with HIV are significantly more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to die by suicide compared to the general population.
“People living with HIV have been neglected when it comes to Mental Health. Support Groups have never really focused on HIV patient’s mental wellness and it would be good if those of us living with HIV get Mental Health training to provide those services to our peers,” Charles adds
The LangaLanga Sub County hospital attends to some 1,500 HIV patients and is among the few public health facilities that have an integrated treatment plan where HIV patients and other patients follow the same procedure. According to Cynthia Chebii, the hospital administrator, this has gone a long way in curbing stigma and discrimination.
“ When you come for HIV service in our facility you are served like any other client. We don’t have a Comprehensive Care Centre because of the stigma our clients faced,” says Chebii
Charles is disturbed about the rising infections in adolescents and he feels it is time society spoke openly about sex and sexually transmitted infections
“Parents need to be open with our children, we should talk about sex, children know that children are not bought from the supermarket and if young people must have sex they Young people need to get on PrEP,” adds Charles.
“Majority of those who test positive are under 24, every morning there are health talks here at the hospital and Youth mentors create awareness on HIV to the young people,” adds Chebii.
Kenya joins the rest of the World in Marking World Aids Day recording the highest rise in infections among young adults and this means that Charles has to double the efforts he has been employing in fighting HIV infections and advocating for those who test positive to get on anti-retroviral treatment.
“I want to leave behind an HIV-free generation,” he says as we wind up our conversation and he rushes back into the waiting bay to attend to the clients streaming into the hospital. Charles doesn’t receive any salary for the work he does but you can see the passion in every stride he takes as he addresses the masses, some are used to him by now but some might be meeting him for the very first time.
Data from the United for Global Mental Health an international mental health and wellness lobby group suggests that incorporating Mental health in HIV prevention and treatment could see a 17 percent decline in infections by 2030, translating to preventing more than 900,000 new infections globally in the next 8 years.
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