Winnie Gorrety at just 19 years of age is not just your ordinary young woman; she is HIV positive and very much ready and willing to share about her status.
Born in Homabay and raised up in Kisumu, Gorrety was not aware of her HIV positive status until one day in 2013 when was just about to sit for her K.C.P. E.
"One day as I was going home for lunch, I met Tuungane officials who had erected tents. They urged me to get tested. I agreed and that’s how I came to know of my status,” she said.
It was not easy for her to accept the results. She contemplated committing suicide or running away from home, but nothing of the sort came to pass.
She never shared with anyone about her status. Hitherto, she is still not sure how she acquired the HIV virus.
“When I was in Standard One, an older person raped me. I know the person very well but he died. I am not very comfortable speaking about the incident,” she said emotionally.
She opines that by the time of the incident, her mother had died in 2004 while her father was sick and had been hospitalized hence lacking the person to tell what she had gone through.
Her father died in 2006, and she has been staying with her brother all along. She sat for her K.C.P. E at Kosawo Primary School in 2013 and scored 289 marks.
The following year, she joined Bishop Abiero High School in Kisumu. Her status became public to family members when she fell sick during the first year in high school.
She was rushed to hospital in the company of her cousin. The doctor did tests and revealed the results to her cousin who in turn, informed the other family members. She declined to take the ARVs.
But when she fell sick again, her family members prevailed upon her to accept her status and start taking medication.
That is when she decided to turn a corner and embrace positive living. She sat for her K.C.S. E exams last year and scored a D plus.
Currently, Gorrety is bringing up the PASA foundation which intends to fight stigma among those infected and affected by HIV.
She says she is in a relationship with a person who is negative. She said her partner is fully aware of her status.
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