Renowned HIV/AIDS activist Phenny Awiti has quit social media. The HIV positive mother of three shared the news of her departure on her Instagram moments before deactivating it, saying that she had exhausted her time on the internet and needed to focus on nurturing her young family.
“We have all walked this journey together, I have enjoyed your interactions in the DMs and I’m so glad that I have had time to respond to every single one of them. My time is however up! I no longer need social media. I’m at a point in my life that I need to raise my kids and enjoy the bread with Baba Bread," she wrote.
Phenny is famed for standing against the stigmatization of those who are HIV positive by creating awareness on HIV/AIDS.
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“Your support has been felt. I am so grateful. You’ll still see my brand in your homes and hopefully even in your nearest stores someday. I have met amazing people over here, great individuals that I’ll forever be indebted to for life! People that have helped me grow, and have been a part of me and my family. Bless you, for gracing both me and my husband’s platforms with nothing but positive vibes and major criticism that have helped us think over time and grow," she added.
Before her exit, Phenny admitted to silently deleting her Facebook account and was planning to do the same for her Instagram but thought of bidding her online family goodbye and asking them to respect her decision.
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“I know we have other unresolved issues in the DMs, like the Nevirapine stock-outs, how to breastfeed and raise an HIV Negative baby and all. Lastly, I would respect if you respected my decision the same way I try as much to respect every decision over here,” she concluded.
Raising HIV negative children
Although Phenny and her husband are HIV/AIDS positive, they are blessed with three children who are negative. During her third pregnancy announcement, Phenny, who was expecting her first child with her current husband revealed that they were looking forward to welcoming their son.
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“I don’t know how it feels like to be HIV Negative, but I know that I and Baba Bread are both HIV positive and gladly raising these two beauties who are free from the virus. I cannot wait for another bundle of joy who is HIV negative!” she wrote.
According to Phenny, she contracted the virus from her mother during birth but only found out about her status in form two during a blood donation drive at school.
“I had to disclose my status to my extended family and they were shocked at first but later became receptive. That is when I was told that my parents were both HIV positive and that during their time, they faced the worst form of stigma and ARVs were not even available. My dad passed on when I was only five years old and my mum when I was ten years. My relatives made me understand that since I was the last born, no Prevention of Mother to Child (PMTC) intervention had taken place hence the reason I became infected. It was disheartening, but I had to pick up the pieces and move on,” she said.
