The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
When a 12-year-old Kenyan boy living with HIV took the stage at the United Nation forum to narrate about the ordeal and stigma that people living with HIV and Aids go through, this took me back to various exhilarating events that have happened before. Kenya has this special spirit that bind its people together regardless of our backgrounds.
Elijah Zachary Lamaiyan’s story expresses the courage and resilience that propel Kenyans in making strides, which have left indelible marks on the global map.
Not long ago, Rose Nasimiyu stood tall in championing the fight against cancer. She didn’t shy away even though she had undergone 16 sessions of chemotherapy. The best part is that she was made a cancer ambassador at the age of nine. Who could imagine that such a young girl can dine with the Head of State? She was later declared cancer free.
Lamaiyan and Nasimiyu have showed the world that HIV and cancer are not a life sentence, and we should join hands in supporting the infected so as to eliminate the stigma they face.
Kenyans are known for beating their ethnic, social and political differences when it comes to tragedies. A social media campaign started by Biko Zulu, a Kenyan blogger, raised Sh6 million for Emanuel Jadudi, a third year University of Nairobi student who has brain tumour.
After the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall, which claimed 67 lives and scores injured, Kenyans joined hands to raise around Sh100 million. The fund was aimed at settling the medical bills and the burial expenses.
It is heartbreaking to learn that Kenyans are joined by tragedies but divided by politics. It is high time we learn our ways and maintain the solidarity we have expressed in dealing with tragedies.
