Thamicha Isaac with her entrepreneurial award from the Young, Gifted and Black Community.
MARIGOT--St. Martin-born founder/chief executive officer of Openly Positive Inc. Thamicha Isaac was recently presented with a Professional Service, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach award from the Young, Gifted and Black (YGB) community in the United States of America (USA).
The New York-based entrepreneur left St. Martin for the USA on April 15, 2002, to escape a very abusive relationship and to have a better life. A year later she was diagnosed HIV positive at the age of 19.
She has turned her life around since accepting her diagnosis, turning pain and grief into power. During her search for purpose, she became an HIV testing counsellor, risk reduction counsellor, client-centred counsellor and transitional life coach. Her mission is to remove the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, and to educate people.
“Taking HIV medication every day keeps my viral load undetectable so I have zero chance of passing HIV on to anybody else,” she explains, stressing the importance of separating HIV and AIDS. “For the past three years I’ve taken on a role of advocacy and activism because for so long I’ve lived my life pretty isolated. I didn’t want to just exist, I really wanted to live on my terms, to live out loud as a beautiful black Caribbean woman living with HIV and sharing that journey with the world.
“When people think of HIV and AIDS, they think of the 1980s and 1990s and all the people who died. But in the 21st century HIV looks very different to those past years. I want people to know that you can have a diagnosis and still thrive and have a normal life.
“It’s absolutely possible. This is one of the things I rally around. An HIV diagnosis doesn’t determine your life expectancy. You wake up every morning, you are not dead. So why not reach for the moon and land among the stars?”
Asked if she felt HIV and AIDS have been overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, she replied: “When COVID happened, it was a sort of parallel to HIV and AIDS. The stigma for COVID is also there too. For someone who is immuno-compromised I definitely have to take precautions when I go out.
“Do I think HIV and AIDS has been overshadowed? No, there has been a shift in the focus to COVID, but nothing will ever take away from the ongoing education, research into a cure for AIDS or for better scientific medical knowledge. They are cousins. One of the two is misbehaving right now, and that’s COVID.”
Speaking of her entrepreneurial award she described the YGB awards as the “Caribbean Grammys” saying it was a major honour to be in the company of people she idolised as a child – Beris Hammond, Beanie Man, Marcia Griffith, and so on. “It was amazing to be among those great Caribbean artists and leaders.”
When Thamicha is not touring the country speaking and sharing her story, she can be found on various social platforms, one of them being Seeds of Healing where she provides virtual content, from facilitating, speaking engagements, workshops and her favourite Thursday Talk with Misha on Instagram where she interviews other peers.
Her work strives to bring strength and comfort to anyone by letting them know they are not alone in their fight against the stigma that is prevalent in communities disproportionately affected by HIV.
As she reiterates, an HIV diagnosis is not the end to one’s life, “but a new beginning to a beautiful life if you can find it in yourself to forgive and love everyone through this diagnosis. “
Thamicha will be interviewed on Radio St. Martin this morning, Wednesday, on the occasion of “Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day.”
