Brand expert, Kenny Badmus, shares his amazing story of living with HIV in the last 15 years

To mark World AIDS Day which is today, December 1st, Nigerian brand expert & founder of Orange Academy, Kenny Badmus, took to his Facebook page to share his inspiring story of living successfully with HIV for the last 15 years. Find his story below...
Today, Monday December 1st, is World AIDS day, and I'm celebrating my resolve to live with this damn virus all these many years without letting it define who I am. Every journey I take, every picture of me you see, and every new challenge I take on are all huge reminders that I must never stop living my best life. So, I decided to share my journey with you today. Honestly, I don’t know what exactly you are dealing with but I’m writing you this to hold tight to your dream. Here's a quick sketch of my journey from the first day I tested positive, 15 years ago. My upcoming book tells the full story.

1999. After three years of different pains and minor illnesses, I was encouraged by my best friend and Professor Soyinka, an HIV specialist, to go get tested so I could face my fear. I had just resumed work as a Copywriter at McCann. I’d rather not know. I was working on Coca Cola, and I would rather live in the joy of that dream. It was that point when you assured yourself this was only a lie from the pit of hell. I had not been a ‘bad boy,’ I would assure myself.

1999. I tested, and it came back positive. I blamed everyone but myself. I wanted to end my life immediately. Trust me, I did try a few things. Then I called on God. I told God to change the status because it didn't look good on him. I sang. I fasted. I gave offerings. Prophet offerings. I died several times, but I didn't die. I was always back to myself. I came up with a few pseudo coping skills, but I was always depressed. The picture of HIV back then was very gory, and I was wasting away.
2004. I realized I didn't die yet. My flesh had not fallen off. My heart was still beating. I still liked rice and pepper stew. I still had early morning erections - and not just in the early mornings. Shouldn't I be dead by now? I began to question everything I ever knew.

2006. I had a local operation for tonsillitis, and it brought my immune system to level zero. I was infected by everything you could name. But I was so happy that I was going to die finally. Wouldn't it be nice to die just like that? Unfortunately, I did not die. I was bedridden for four months and was forced to live by myself. It was there that my Exodus happened. I realized for the 1st time that the real death is when we refuse to live out our full potential. Death is not a physical thing. It is an emotional thing. When we stop living. When we stop laughing. When we stop learning. When we stop crying. Or feeling. So I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. There, I started the anti-HIV medication. (Trust me, it doesn't kill as I had feared)

2007. I started living and loving myself. As a creative person, I created Orange Academy to start teaching people how to find their creative self. Love themselves. Tell compelling stories. I put all my life into it. Then, I started to undo all my pseudo coping skills. Oh, I had tons of them. Like getting married, wanting people to accept me, being the 'yes' man to Ministers of God - something I did in times past to assure myself I was doing 'God's will.' I stopped sending my money to Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and started investing it on people I could see around me. Little did I realize that God didn't send me to do anything to gain his favor or search for him. God had never been lost. I was meant to find myself and live my authentic life. Lift people up. Fight the oppression around me. I started spending time with myself. I started working out at the gym. I started to travel to enjoy the universe.

2008 - 2010. I looked in the mirror, and I saw a better me. A younger me. A healthier me. No more lies. At Orange Academy, we started the ART OF POSITIVE THINKING and started to use our arts and money to assist people living with debilitating diseases or social conditions. I took those layers of lies off my soul. I started writing my memoir - my full story as a preacher boy trying to find God who art in heaven! [ THE EXODUS coming out next year ]

2014. November. I had an appointment with my doctor in Maryland, USA, and he asked me:
'What's your secret?' All your medical tests are amazing. We tested for everything possible. No new infections or conditions. Blood work is excellent. Nothing at all to worry about. Perfect health. Just that you are still HIV+.'
‘Oh really?’ I said. ‘I thought that had disappeared.’
‘ Well, it’s still there, sadly. I hope Science gets the cure someday soon.’

We both laughed and then I fought back a little tear in my eyes. This dude doesn't know how grateful I am for HIV. Thank God for HIV. I wish I never had it, but Lord I did! It made me run after myself. Maybe I would never have understood myself; that no one can save us but us. Maybe I would never know the refreshing power that loneliness can bring when we embrace our broken self.

Here's what I want you to take away: don't end your dreams just because you are presented with bad news along the way. Remember, HIV doesn't kill anymore; it's ignorance that kills. Use that bad news to ride onto your next phase. It will be tough. I won't lie. Don't be afraid to live vulnerably. It's empowering. Empower yourself by loving yourself. Find yourself. Give yourself to people without expecting anything in return. If you are a Faith person, keep living your Faith in love for humankind. Empty yourself and accept to be filled with kindness from others. Believe me, there are still angels out there to lift you up.

*NOTE: Potentially I cannot infect anyone with HIV since my viral load went to undetectable since 2008. Nevertheless, I still advise that you take precaution with sexual partners as an HIV+ person, so they don't infect you with STDs. If you have not tested, know your status. It's liberating. Starting an HIV medication now doesn't only protect your loved ones but can make you live even longer than people without HIV.

Flower & Rainbow

FLOWER & RAINBOW
Just wondering in my mind the amazing creativity of the Almighty God in giving different tongues and languages...Where are you from and what is FLOWER and RAINBOW called in ur dialect.
http://beulahmarshall.blogspot.com/2014/11/flower-and-rainbow.html

Lip Augmentation; Pains And Gains, Think Twice!!

There is nothing wrong in trying to look more beautiful and sexy, but some procedures you have to go through, may make you want to think twice. Leaving the pain that comes with tattoo, pain that comes with eye lash extensions, stress that comes with going to the spa or the pain that comes with plastic surgery, you may want to look at your foot again before you think of a Lip augmentation popularly known as Pink Lips or Lip enlargement.
A Lip augmentation is a cosmetic procedure that can give you fuller, plumper lips. These days, an injectable dermal filler is the most commonly used method of lip augmentation. This procedure always comes with side effects, but they are temporary and may only last few days. They may include:

Bleeding from the injection sites, Swelling and bruising, Redness and tenderness at the site of the injection, Severe and prolonged swelling or bruising lasting one week to 10 days, Lip asymmetry (parts of lips are different sizes), Lumps and irregularities in the lips, Infection, Injection into a blood vessel causing tissue loss, Ulceration, scarring, or stiffening of the lip, Allergic reaction causing redness, swelling, or itching around the lips and a few others.

Some persons do ask if having a lip augmentation is right but the truth is, you must first ask yourself why you want to modify your lips. You should not undergo this procedure unless you truly want to modify your appearance. If you are considering lip augmentation to make someone else happy or to try to fit an ideal image, you may want to think twice.

Our Democracy of corruption

on september 30, 2014
My thoughts most definitely align with this one from Sunny Ikhioya. Excerpts:

WE are celebrating another independence day, the same  ritual; razzmatazz and demonstrations. Speeches. Promises and promises, all of the same, so much motion but no movement.
Fela calls it “perambulating and still remaining on the same spot”. We have seen it all, as it was in the beginning- 1960, so it is now, nothing has changed. Will Nigeria and Nigerians ever change? That is the big question.
I was reading through Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s book Travails of Democracy book two, recently; as I made progress from one page to another, my body shivered, it was as if he was addressing  today’s Nigeria. The voice of the opposition, then Action group, can be likened to today’s APC, no difference in language and temperament. The NPC/NCNC coalition is like PDP of today; powerful, not too loud but quietly strangulating the opposition.
It was a battle of northern feudalism versus the south’s free enterprise and adult suffrage. It was a classical match at the eve of our independence and the referee was our colonial master, Britain. Same is happening today as our politicians have started appearing at the British parliament to plead their cause.
The independence of 1960 offered a great hope, but, the hope was short lived and finally cut short by a weak foundation, that was programmed to fail ab initio, coupled with the activities of our gullible politicians.
The foundations of Nigeria were built on corruption and manipulations. No structure can survive under a weak foundation, we have witnessed so many collapsed buildings, including the recent one at the Synagogue church of all nations. What are the requirements for a solid building foundation? We have: cement, sand, gravel, iron rods and water. A combination of the right quantity and quality of these items will give a sound foundation for any building; the higher and bigger the structure, the more materials that will be required. There is no short cut to it.
Taking this analogy further to the nation state, the raw materials needed for a nation state to thrive are; willingness of the various interest groups to live together as one, truth- in the form of accurate statistics and census, visionary and purposeful leadership. All of these ingredients for a correct democratic foundations were lacking, at the inception of this country’s independence in 1960. In fact, it dates back to 1914, the year of the amalgamation of the north and south. They were lacking then and they are lacking now.
Let us not deceive ourselves, unless these foundations are put right, nothing will work right in this country; we can adjust, manipulate, cajole or threaten, use propaganda and even, go to war, the problems will never be solved; a sandy foundation will never last. The Nigerian state foundation was built on corruption and, until we go back to the basics to correct this, our situation will remain the same.
The different nations in the amalgamated Nigeria were never, really, fully integrated. It was a merger that was directed by the fiat of the British authorities, all they were interested in was how it benefit the cause of Great Britain.
The system of administration was even different for the north and southern regions. Culturally, the people are different; while the south are more agitative as a result of their western education exposure and republicanism, the north is more subdued because of their feudal tendencies. The British found it more to their interest to favour the passive north against the restive south.
Therefore, every decision taken in respect of the Nigerian nation, was skewed against the south. It was a conspiracy of the British and the northern ruling class against the south. The geographical mappings were skewed in favour of the north, census were conducted to favour a section of the country against the other. That was the foundation for distrust between the north and the south till date.
That was the beginning of ethnic/religious rivalry and that was the basis for our inability to handle the monster of corruption, as everyone  shouts: ” you want to bring down my brother”.
The damage that tribalism has done to this country can never be quantified.It has encouraged wastages; projects of all types and industries are sited, based on ethnic considerations, without the viability factor. Therefore, there are so many abandoned projects all over the country. Merit does not count in appointments to positions, even, up to the highest levels; the people in public office  today, in all cadres, are not the best that the country has to offer, but, because of such factors, mediocrity is enthroned.
Why, for instance, can’t the presidency be open to all and sundry, irrespective of tribe and geographic location? When you place mediocres in position of leadership, you receive mediocre rewards. Unfortunately, those angling to take over power do  not fare better. Where are the detribalised Nigerians? Do we have them? Men who will be ready to lead Nigeria as a whole, instead of for self and tribal interests, that will be the day.
The Scottish people have just voted to remain in the United kingdom, in a transparent poll, can our leadership afford the various ethnic groups, the opportunity to decide how they want to be governed? There are so many ethnic groups that are been suppressed in this country, for example; we never knew that there are predominantly Christian towns in the north, until the Chibok incident occurred.
Are we ready to allow these small ethnic groups have their say? Democracy favours the majority, but, all ethnic groups must be recognised. Until all ethnic groups are giving a sense of belonging in the affairs of this country, we shall only be pretending to be a nation state. It is not too late to conduct a referendum the Scottish way. Tribalism is evil. It is at the heart of our inability to tackle corruption decisively in this country. Let the people’s voices be heard.

Vanguard

How to get bank loans (PT 1)

This article is focusing on business loan. In future, we shall be dealing with other loans, mainly personal or consumer loans.

Getting a loan from any bank in Nigeria is not as difficult as most people think. The problem is largely that of huge communication gap (knowledge gap) between the lender and the borrower, and not really unavailability of funds or unwillingness of banks to lend.

Also, it is not all about the borrowers’ shortcomings as it has been overstretched in some quarters.

If only we note that banks have excess funds which are ready for lending and at same time they are not ready to throw away depositors’ money simply because somebody wants a loan, the borrower-lender field will become even.

Below are some of the things one must have in mind before going for a bank loan:

First, the bank has a duty to protect itself or the depositors’ funds from any loan that may go bad. Hence, it will have to examine and appraise any credit facility being requested properly, after which the request may be granted or rejected.  Some basic conditions must be met before a customer can apply for a loan in the first instance.

Opening and operating a current account for about six months (some banks have relaxed this condition for small borrowers).

• The account must be satisfactorily operated – deposits and withdrawals must be reasonably stable and regular.

• Customer must have unquestionable character and good health.

• Company’s registration details.

• Business case for the loan, rationale behind it.

• Company business plan.

• Your business financial statements including an income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

• Personal statements of assets and liabilities of all the business partners, members of the Board of Directors (may not be required for small scale businesses).

• A 12-month cash flow statement of your company.

Note that a satisfactory presentation of the above does not still qualify an application for loan to be granted automatically.

Next week, we shall examine other considerations for a successful loan transaction between a bank and its customer. We shall also be examining some cobwebs in a typical bank loan transaction in Nigeria.

Source: Punch

Ignorance Is No Bliss by CharlyBoy

Welcome to Marshall Ononye blog

Article written by Charly Boy. Read below...

"Oh God! Why was I born in this neck of the woods? See how low my country has sank, demeaning our value as human beings, destroying our image as greed and corruption destroys everything we hold sacred. See how it drives the youths crazily into the uncertain life of crime, dispossessing the creative and talented youths of their dreams and discrediting their imagination. Haba, God, why? As Nigerians, what are we really good for? Were we born to be haunted and taunted?"
I don’t know what drives us but were we created to be a sub. Like you
create two versions of something and see which one would thrive more
in the habitat it would be placed. It seems the Africans (Nigerians)
are failing the test and soon would be wiped out from existence. Why
have we remained a consumer nation, can't even produce nothing, even
the few who can are not encouraged.

We are so backward it troubles me. Even if the western world were to
wait for us for another hundred years, at this rate we will likely not
meet up. Because as a people and as a nation, we lack focus, we are so
consumed by greed that all we know how to do is compete among
ourselves in this endless corruption that we fail to see the bigger
picture.

We are obviously operating a failed political system, educational
system and whatever comes to mind. A country where literates are so
myopic and shallow minded. We are still living in the era of people
believing more in witches and wizard and do not believe in working
towards a bright future. A kill and go system that does not really
care for its people. From our so called riffraff in leadership, we are
told to be patient and always pray for good luck. Can our country
really be run by good luck?

We are so myopic that when we are confronted with one problem we talk
about it until another problem arises; we forget the old unsolved one
and begin to rant about the new problem.  It was “bring back our
girls”, now is Ebola here Ebola there. Even people with PHD were
bathing with salt water, Maggi and pepper. Lol

What is so bad is that we claim to have produced both academic and
medical doctors and yet we can’t possibly find any solution to this
bloody virus. We are begging the United States for the unapproved
serum which will not be given until 2015. We have labs that can’t
carry out experiments because the labs don’t have the required to
function well. Are our doctors even capable? On the media you hear
different stories of what’s going on while we are shielded from the
truth.

We refuse to develop ourselves so we live at the mercy of others. We
claim we are the giant of Africa but there is little or nothing we can
do for other smaller African countries. How can we, when we have not
been able to do anything for ourselves.

We always think our ignorance is an excuse to the way we live and what
happens to us, is it actually ignorance or stupidity? Our ignorance
will not deliver us and it is no excuse to whatever happens to us.

Are we not supposed to be responsible for ourselves? Are we going to
keep depending on other nations for our security and safety?

Where is our pride as a people and as individuals? We get mouth but we
no get anything. People weh get mouth na people weh get evidence of
substance. Sometimes you don’t have to speak, what you have created
speaks for you.

Until we realize that our problems are beyond rants, curses and
prayers, then can we be a step towards finding a solution.

Except we want to be proved as a failed state/race would we remain in
this pathetic state of existence. I’m sure I’m not the only one who
knows that in Africa we are just existing and not living. The world
has since evolved. Abegi."

Charlie-Boy hiting at Africans (Nigerians)

Ignorance Is No Bliss by CharlyBoy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OqshX/~3/R_xTdnMOqOY/ignorance-is-no-bliss-by-charlyboy.html