Online Reporter
PASTOR Reki Jimu (54), known for his television programme ‘‘Handisi MuDeparture Lounge,’’ is a very inspirational man.
He tested HIV positive in 2001 when he was 30.
His first wife Tendai Goba succumbed to complications related to the virus at the age of 27.
Pastor Jimu came to national prominence when his television programme was aired on ZBC in 2004 when he pioneered the HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Campaign, encouraging communities to live positively through taking their medication religiously.
Those were the days when HIV/AIDS accounted for the majority of deaths in the country.
During those days, HIV diagnosis was like a death sentence since there was no medication but the arrival of anti-retroviral drugs changed all that.
His two sons also died.
His daughter, Faith Jimu, is now 32 and a mother of three.
They are all HIV negative.
Pastor Jimu is still alive in Chitungwiza and is still offering HIV testing and counselling services at Chitungwiza Central Hospital.
He is the founder of the Christian Fellowship Network Trust and a leader of the Community Child Workers in Chitungwiza.
When he tested HIV positive, two years after the death of his wife, Pastor Jimu did not let the diagnosis dampen his zeal to live even though he encountered a lot of hurdles from relatives, friends and colleagues.
He revealed that he started losing weight, people said he was being bewitched by his brother whom they claimed had goblins that were sucking out his blood.
However, they later mended their relationship after they received information about HIV from various AIDS-related organisations such as the National AIDS Council, Family Support Clinic, which helped to remove stigma and discrimination.
He married Francisca Thomson, after his wife died, and she has been very supportive and reminds him as to when he can take his anti-retroviral drugs and she supports his community work which is done under his Christian Fellowship Network Trust.
He uses the trust to give moral and spiritual support to orphans and vulnerable children and persons with disabilities.
Pastor Jimu’s story is quite inspirational because it once again hammers home the message that living with HIV is not a death sentence.
It once again highlights that we have moved on, as the world, from the dark days when testing positive for HIV was a death sentence.
He is living testimony of all that is good about how medicine found a way to fight back against HIV and AIDS. The good thing about him is that he knows that his story can help others live positively rather than being weighed down by a wave of uncertainty, unsure of what tomorrow holds for them. We have seen many others come out to tell their stories and all that is quite positive. Pastor Jimu is a good man and a remarkable fighter who is fighting a very good cause. In the beginning he was fighting for his life and now he is fighting to save the lives of others.
