Some hours ago a Kenyan man was in an interview with Muhia Wa Maingi, where he talked about his HIV status, how he got infected and how he has been dealing with the situation since he was 19 years old. The main objective of the interview was to give hope to HIV positive individuals and proof to them that being diagnosed with HIV is not the end of life. His name is James Samai popularly known as James Blessed.
He is a Kikuyu gospel musician and a tiktoker at the same time. He was born in Turkana county, meaning he is a Turkana man by nature, but he ended up living in a family of a Kikuyu man. His parents were employees in a Kikuyu man’s home, and when they decided to go back to Turkana they left him behind when he was 6 years. The family adopted him and today he is almost 40 years old. He tried looking for his parents when he became older, but unfortunately he didn’t succeed.
The family showed him love and they took him to school as one of their children. When he was in form four the last term, his fellow student took his bucket and they started fighting. To fight back, the boy bit his finger, and he didn’t know he was HIV positive.
One day a teacher hinted to his friend that the boy was born HIV positive but he didn’t know that HIV could be transmitted through biting. He was done with his exams and moved to Nairobi. After two years he started feeling unwell and he started loosing weight. He was later diagnosed with tuberculosis and his weight dropped from 100 kgs to 70 kgs.
After one month he was 46 kgs and the caretaker realized he was not okey. The caretaker called the landlord and they took him back home in Nyahururu. The family took him to Nyahururu general hospital when he was in a critical condition. When the doctor realized he had tuberculosis, he said HIV must also be tested. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with HIV and nobody told him because he couldn’t hear. His parents went and burned everything which belonged to him.
After fifteen days he regained his hearing ability and the doctor explained everything to him. That was when he remembered the story of what happened when he was in form four and he felt like giving up with life. The family which had adopted him neglected him in hospital, and they started preparing for his burial. After two months in hospital he started regaining his strength and his new life began.
After being released from hospital, he went to one of his sisters and he had already accepted the fact that he was HIV positive. In that house he was isolated by the family to a point they gave him his own plate, spoon and everything he needed. After seven months he went back to Nairobi to start his life afresh. He never told anyone about his condition, and because he looks healthy nobody knew about it.
He therefore warned young men and women to stop testing people’s HIV status with their eyes because nowadays you can’t detect who is positive and who is negative. One of his old friends rented him a house, bought him a bed and other necessities. He decided to directly face life and he struggled completely. He met his first girlfriend and when he told her about his health situation she vanished.
He was left by many women before he met his current wife, who accepted him for whom he is. Today he is very healthy and his life is working on perfectly. He therefore told those with HIV not to give up with life, since life must continue no matter what. Watch the full video below and share your views with us.