Latest news with #Chichi
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Lebo M and DJ Tira: music icons, epic dads
In the same spirit of celebrating fatherhood, renowned DJ and producer DJ Tira opened up about his life as a dad, husband and artist. For Tira, fatherhood is a source of immense joy. 'These children are growing me,' he says, describing how his children's boundless energy mirrors his own. Raising his children — Chichi, Chase and Junior — is a melody of fulfilment as he cherishes their attentiveness and the happiness they bring into his life. Reflecting on his youth, Tira advises his younger self to avoid distractions: 'No time for bullsh*t, no time to play.' He says that focusing earlier could have propelled him further, emphasising the importance of hard work and discipline. This wisdom echoes lessons from his father, who taught him to approach alcohol cautiously, a principle Tira applies to maintain balance in his high-energy career. Family is Tira's proudest achievement. Together with his wife, Gugu, he has built a tight-knit unit that thrives on mutual support and peace. 'We're a family of stars,' he beams, recalling how Chase recently won a school modelling competition and how Chichi's dance moves reflect her mother's talent. These moments like watching his children dance and take on TikTok challenges are cherished memories that fuel his drive. Looking ahead Tira is excited about his children's growth and his own career, which shows no signs of slowing down. 'Stay tuned, there's still a lot more coming,' he teases, confident that Chichi will shine as a star. To balance his demanding schedule, Tira's mantra is simple: 'Cut out the bullsh*t, focus on work and family.' For DJ Tira, success lies in nurturing his loved ones and his craft with dedication.
Daily Mirror
14-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Abandoned dead dog discovered inside bucket by group of children at park
The RSPCA is appealing for information after a dead dog was discovered by a group of children inside a bucket at Springfield Park in Knotty Ash, Liverpool this week The RSPCA has launched a plea for information after a discovery of a deceased dog in a park. Several children were left distraught after finding the dead female dog inside a bucket while at Springfield Park in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, on Saturday morning. The lifeless French bulldog was discovered wrapped in a towel, stored within a black holdall bag, and then placed in a black plastic garden bucket, according to the animal charity. A microchip scan identified the five year old fawn-coloured canine as Chichi, yet tracking down her owner proved difficult as she had been rehomed multiple times and records were not current. Chichi's body was alarmingly swollen and had significantly decomposed, leading to the belief that she had passed away roughly two weeks prior; the exact cause of death remained indeterminable due to the state of the remains, expressed the vet involved. RSPCA Inspector Joanne McDonald is actively investigating the case and stated: "It must have been so upsetting for the children who discovered Chichi's body and we're really grateful to them for taking her to a vet.", reports the Liverpool Echo. McDonald also shared her concerns, stating, "While there were no obvious signs of injury, we're concerned about how and why she was found like this. "We suspect she hadn't been at the location for too long, and we're appealing to anyone who recognises her or saw suspicious activity in the park to get in touch." Anyone with information should ring the RSPCA's appeals line on 0300 123 8018 quoting incident number 01514713. It comes after a woman thought she'd spotted her dead dog's face in the fur of her new pup. Jodie Murphy, 37, lost her beloved Sealyham Terrier Mavis and replaced her with pooch Patrick, who is the same breed. Shortly after bringing Patrick home, she was staggered to spot what appeared to be Mavis's face in the markings on the back of his head. Social worker Jodie said: 'We had only had Patrick for a few days when I noticed the ghost markings in his fur. I did think I was seeing things at first, but when I took a picture I could definitely see Mavis. Once you see it you can't unsee it! It's certainly brought me a lot of comfort and just makes Patrick even more special. He's our little heart healer for sure.' It's crucial to whisk them off to a vet or rescue centre, where professionals can assess if there's mistreatment involved and call upon the RSPCA's expertise. The RSPCA website is brimming with advice on how to safely handle these situations.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kenya HIV patients live in fear as US aid freeze strand drugs in warehouse
By Aaron Ross, Tim Cocks and Vivianne Wandera NAIROBI (Reuters) -The health clinic where Alice Okwirry collects her HIV medication in Kenya's capital Nairobi has been rationing supplies of antiretrovirals to one-month refills since the U.S. government froze foreign aid. On the outskirts of the city, meanwhile, millions of life-saving doses sit on the shelves of a warehouse, unused and unreachable. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The clinic is a half hour's drive from the warehouse, but for Okwirry, they may as well be an ocean apart. Without U.S. funding, distribution from the warehouse, which stocks all U.S. government-donated HIV medicine to Kenya, has ceased, leaving supplies of some drugs worryingly low, according to a former USAID official and a health official in Kenya. The 90-day foreign aid freeze, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump after taking office on January 20, has upended the global supply chain for medical products to fight HIV and other diseases. It is also blocking the distribution of drugs that long ago reached their destination countries. "I was just seeing death now coming," said 50-year-old Okwirry who was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 and has a 15-year-old daughter, Chichi, who is also HIV-positive. Okwirry used to receive six-month supplies of ARVs from the clinic but now can only get one month. "I told Chichi: what about if you hear the drugs are doomed?" Okwirry said, growing emotional. "She told me: Mom, I'll be leaning on you." The State Department issued a waiver last month exempting funding for HIV treatment from the freeze. But the USAID payments system in Kenya is down after the cuts, meaning contractors who implement the programmes cannot be paid, said Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, who was the deputy head of communications for USAID, East Africa, until resigning on Feb. 3 in protest at the dismantling of the agency. "Projects are left wondering: 'Well, how am I going to resume activities if you're not paying me money?" he said. "The waivers that have been given are really waivers on paper." In Kenya, officials in Washington have not authorised the release of money required to distribute the $34 million worth of medicine and equipment at the warehouse, he added. According to a Kenyan government document seen by Reuters, about $10 million is needed for that distribution. The Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), the Christian charity that runs the warehouse, supplies drugs to some 2,000 clinics nationwide, its website says. Knowles-Coursin told Reuters the commodities at the warehouse include 2.5 million bottles of ARVs, 750,000 HIV test kits and 500,000 malaria treatments. USAID referred a request for comment to the State Department, which did not respond. The Christian charity in Kenya that runs the warehouse, Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), did not respond to requests for comment. Kenya's Health Minister, Deborah Barasa, said she expected her government to mobilise funds to allow the supplies at MEDS to be released within two to four weeks. "We have identified the resources that are required," she said in an interview. 'FEAR AND ANXIETY' Kenya has the seventh-largest number of people living with HIV in the world, at around 1.4 million, according to World Health Organization data. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the main U.S. vehicle for funding HIV treatment, supplies some 40% of Kenya's HIV drugs and supplies. A health official in Kenya, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said stocks of two critical HIV treatments, Dolutegravir and Nevirapine, were low but did not know exactly how much remained nationwide. Dolutegravir is often used to treat coinfections of HIV and tuberculosis. Nevirapine is often used to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Barasa, the health minister, said there would be enough Dolutegravir to last five months and Nevirapine to last eight months once the MEDS stocks were released. For the time being, some patients can only get refills of their ARVS for one week at a time, said Nelson Otwoma, director of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Lawsuits aiming to compel the Trump administration to restore funding for humanitarian programmes and reinstate thousands of fired or furloughed USAID workers are working their way through U.S. courts. On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has cancelled more than 80% of all USAID programmes. The Kenyan government's council on syndemic diseases estimated in an internal brief last month, seen by the Reuters, that the U.S. cuts had created funding gaps of around $80 million. Finance Minister John Mbadi told senators last week that the government was reviewing whether to allocate emergency funding to compensate for U.S. aid cuts before it delivers the 2025/26 budget in the coming months. ($1 = 128.9000 Kenyan shillings)
Reuters
11-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Kenya HIV patients live in fear as US aid freeze strand drugs in warehouse
Summary US freeze has upended global medical supply chains HIV exempted, but USAID payments system down About $10 million needed to distribute warehouse stock NAIROBI, March 11 (Reuters) - The health clinic where Alice Okwirry collects her HIV medication in Kenya's capital Nairobi has been rationing supplies of antiretrovirals to one-month refills since the U.S. government froze foreign aid. On the outskirts of the city, meanwhile, millions of life-saving doses sit on the shelves of a warehouse, unused and unreachable. The clinic is a half hour's drive from the warehouse, but for Okwirry, they may as well be an ocean apart. Without U.S. funding, distribution from the warehouse, which stocks all U.S. government-donated HIV medicine to Kenya, has ceased, leaving supplies of some drugs worryingly low, according to a former USAID official and a health official in Kenya. The 90-day foreign aid freeze, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump after taking office on January 20, has upended the global supply chain for medical products to fight HIV and other diseases. It is also blocking the distribution of drugs that long ago reached their destination countries. "I was just seeing death now coming," said 50-year-old Okwirry who was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 and has a 15-year-old daughter, Chichi, who is also HIV-positive. Okwirry used to receive six-month supplies of ARVs from the clinic but now can only get one month. "I told Chichi: what about if you hear the drugs are doomed?" Okwirry said, growing emotional. "She told me: Mom, I'll be leaning on you." The State Department issued a waiver last month exempting funding for HIV treatment from the freeze. But the USAID payments system in Kenya is down after the cuts, meaning contractors who implement the programmes cannot be paid, said Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, who was the deputy head of communications for USAID, East Africa, until resigning on Feb. 3 in protest at the dismantling of the agency. "Projects are left wondering: 'Well, how am I going to resume activities if you're not paying me money?" he said. "The waivers that have been given are really waivers on paper." In Kenya, officials in Washington have not authorised the release of money required to distribute the $34 million worth of medicine and equipment at the warehouse, he added. According to a Kenyan government document seen by Reuters, about $10 million is needed for that distribution. The Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), the Christian charity that runs the warehouse, supplies drugs to some 2,000 clinics nationwide, its website says. Knowles-Coursin told Reuters the commodities at the warehouse include 2.5 million bottles of ARVs, 750,000 HIV test kits and 500,000 malaria treatments. USAID referred a request for comment to the State Department, which did not respond. The Christian charity in Kenya that runs the warehouse, Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), did not respond to requests for comment. Kenya's Health Minister, Deborah Barasa, said she expected her government to mobilise funds to allow the supplies at MEDS to be released within two to four weeks. "We have identified the resources that are required," she said in an interview. 'FEAR AND ANXIETY' Kenya has the seventh-largest number of people living with HIV in the world, at around 1.4 million, according to World Health Organization data. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the main U.S. vehicle for funding HIV treatment, supplies some 40% of Kenya's HIV drugs and supplies. A health official in Kenya, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said stocks of two critical HIV treatments, Dolutegravir and Nevirapine, were low but did not know exactly how much remained nationwide. Dolutegravir is often used to treat coinfections of HIV and tuberculosis. Nevirapine is often used to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Barasa, the health minister, said there would be enough Dolutegravir to last five months and Nevirapine to last eight months once the MEDS stocks were released. For the time being, some patients can only get refills of their ARVS for one week at a time, said Nelson Otwoma, director of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Lawsuits aiming to compel the Trump administration to restore funding for humanitarian programmes and reinstate thousands of fired or furloughed USAID workers are working their way through U.S. courts. On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has cancelled more than 80% of all USAID programmes. The Kenyan government's council on syndemic diseases estimated in an internal brief last month, seen by the Reuters, that the U.S. cuts had created funding gaps of around $80 million. Finance Minister John Mbadi told senators last week that the government was reviewing whether to allocate emergency funding to compensate for U.S. aid cuts before it delivers the 2025/26 budget in the coming months. ($1 = 128.9000 Kenyan shillings) Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.
