• One victim Peter Sewe* notes that people around him embraced him and even encouraged but the same could not say the same for his daughter.
•“My daughter is finding it tough to mingle with peers at home. She says that nobody is willing to play with her since her father was positive,” he says.
Image: FILE
Day in day out, Ministry of Health officials stand in front of Kenyans reading the Covid-19 situation report.
With an indication signaling that Kenya is flattening the curve with the drop in the number of people with the virus, the figures of those recovering has also risen significantly.
This is good news not only for officials but also to the Kenyans who see hope.
As at Wednesday, the number of recoveries in Kenya hit 20,449. This is as compared to the number of deaths which stand at 581.
But the news about recoveries is not as pleasant as it may seem as some individuals who have recovered say they have faced discrimination.
One victim Peter Sewe* notes that people around him embraced him and even encouraged but the same could not say the same for his daughter.
“My daughter is finding it tough to mingle with peers at home. She says that nobody is willing to play with her since her father was positive,” he says.
Sewe says that making his condition public made it all the more difficult for everyone in his plot.
“We have a WhatsApp group whereby I posted my condition. Now you can imagine that other parents tell their children not to play with my child,” he said.
“Some neighbours mislead their kids ….but as per now they are however trying to learn how to cope with her but it's still tough.”
He tells the Star that his daughter who did not test positive feared being rejected and insulated by peers.
Some neighbors mislead their kids ….but as per now they are however trying to learn how to cope with her but it's still tough,"Peter Sewe says
“Through the WhatsApp group, I pleaded with parents to talk to their kids on how to behave. I asked them to stop distancing themselves from us to prevent stigma,” he said.
Health CAS Rashid Aman said the stigma undermines testing and treating efforts. This leaves everyone at risk of contracting the virus.
“No one is free of the virus until all of us are free,” Aman said last week.
But despite all these pleas, Sewe's daughter did not feel as comfortable as she should while playing with other children.
“ I sent her away for a vacation so that she could clear her mind before coming back to this absurd situation,” he said.
As for his own situation, Sewe notes that his healing process has been smooth since he turned negative.
“Things have been good for me. No discrimination but some people tend to ask many questions once they learn that I was positive at some point,” he said.
“Being asked so many questions kind of bothers me and it's like this disease is so mighty that getting it seems like a death sentence.”
Sewe notes that since his recovery, he has not felt sick so far.
“But we religiously take the concoction (hot water, ginger, lemon and garlic), cod liver oil and other supplements to up immunity,” he said.
Sewe who is a businessman said many people do not have enough information about the virus which is a worrying trend.
“I think most people lacked information about the virus, hence funny narratives and assumptions. Some people are just insensitive by nature. Glad that majority embraced us,” he said.
He advised Kenyans not to fear when they contract the disease.
“Coronavirus is manageable and most, especially asymptomatic cases heal completely,” he said.
“That should not make them become reckless. They should stick to MoH precautionary measures, boost their immune system by taking in a lot of fruits and vegetables.”
But Sewe is not alone in this recovery victory, I meet Danson Wachira* who says that his recovery has been a smooth process.
For Wachira, he says that his faith has been his pillar since he recovered.
“Personally the journey has been reasonably easy. I think having faith that the almighty was in control and having a good support system consisting of family and close friends really helped me through the process,” he said.
Wachira says that when he got ill, he did not have any complications whatsoever.
“This made it easier for me to even recover without any problems. I thank God I did not get any complications whatsoever,” he said.
But he notes that he stopped taking the concoction as he got lazy with time.
“I got lazy because I guess that the shortage of lemons didn't help the situation at all. At that point a small lemon could go for Sh20,” he said.
“I think maintaining a positive attitude is key, and eating right especially fruits to strengthen the immune system.”
In June, Kenya began implementing its home-based isolation and care guidelines for Covid-19 patients to offer a solution in the management of increasing numbers and an anticipated surge in cases.
The government had admitted that its health facilities were being overwhelmed by the number of Covid-19 patients.