As a boy, Kelvin Fortune witnessed and experienced the struggles his mother endured and at the tender age of 11 he even became her major caregiver when she battled debilitating illnesses. She died shortly after and while many have stretched out a helping hand to the young man over the years, he has had to battle with depression and anxiety as he fought to find his footing in life’s journey.
Fortune’s mother was stricken with cancer and HIV and as he prepared for the National Grade Six Assessment, the then 11-year-old also had to care for her. When she died he was at school, but he recalled that the last time he saw her before she left for the hospital, he knew she was dying. Prior to that he also existed in what could be described as a battlefield as he witnessed his mother being beaten by her partners and in one instance he was kicked down the stairs by his stepfather.
Spending three nights and three days on the streets because they had nowhere to live is also part of Fortune’s history. He did not hate his mother, rather, he said, he loved her “very dearly”. He believes life threw too many challenges at her, including the deaths of two of his siblings at a young age from pneumonia, and it was just a case of her not being able to hold her head above water.
He spoke candidly about his life and while he knows some in his family may not agree with this approach, including his two older siblings, Fortune believes it is important to his healing.
“The reason for doing it is not to shame them, because I am not ashamed of what I have been through, it helped me to be a better person. But the reason for me sharing my story is to help those who might be going through the same thing,” the young entrepreneur told Stabroek Weekend in an interview. “I have had five [suicide] attempts. I have suffered from depression and anxiety but gradually I have been able to overcome that mentality and that feeling of wanting to end my life. Once you go through those obstacles and challenges and you overcome them that means God has a plan for you.”
At 32, which is just a few years younger than his mother was when she died, Fortune, who goes by the moniker Selfieboss online, has blossomed and is known in the comedy circuit. He has produced a film. He is a sought after individual to do advertisements for small businesses. And more recently, he formed a non-governmental organisation called Youth for Better Living which has been very instrumental in assisting people during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The trauma of his childhood struggles has remained with him and he is still processing all the pain, but Fortune also knew he wanted to become a productive adult.
Because of his mother’s illness, he became a peer educator with the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) and did that for five years. He has also done various courses and workshops over the years. He has also held literacy programmes in some communities.
Always involved in assisting others, Fortune also formed a dance company called All Steppers, which helped to send school drop-outs back to school and had some 150 dancers. He directed and produced the movie Choices, which tells the story of a young couple but also addresses various social issues such as HIV, mental health, peer pressure, teenage pregnancy, among others.
“I love volunteering. I love this kind of work…” he said, but he also described himself as a businessman and he sells cellular phones, promotes parties and is very supportive of the local music industry outside of all else that he does.
Fortune is the father of one son, and he said even though he is no longer with the child’s mother they have a good relationship, and he ensures that he plays a significant role in his son’s life.
Managed
Reflecting on his childhood, Fortune said that for one year after his mother was diagnosed with cancer and HIV he had to manage going to school and taking care of her, which included preparing her meals and ensuring that she was tidied. At the time they lived in a room at one of her friends while his older siblings lived with her grandmother as they also did even prior to his mother’s illness.
“I would bathe her, cook for her…” he said, while adding that it is because of the stigma attached to HIV that he was left to care for his mother, hence the urge for him to become a peer educator and help others to understand the illness.
“We have been through a lot of challenges,” he said, adding that he and mother could not have gotten by without the help of some relatives and mostly strangers.
“She was in a terrible state before she died. She would have blood coming out of her nose and her mouth… I used to have her in my arms and like helping her to sleep but she was dying…,” Fortune said, becoming emotional adding that in those last days she always told him that he would make her proud.
He was just about five years old when his 18-month-old sister died and a year later his seven-year-old sister died. Both were stricken with pneumonia along with him and they were also hospitalized. At the time, his mother was a police officer.
“We had a lot of stepfathers who used to beat us… One of my stepfathers kicked her down the steps and I was about eight and I intervened, and he kicked me down the steps too. I grew up with my mom seeing a lot of domestic violence so I would always try to stop my stepfathers from hitting her,” he said.
While his mother’s illness and subsequent death affected him Fortune said he still attended secondary school but was unable to write CSEC as in the run up to the examination his grandmother, with whom he was close, also died.
He recalled that he and his mother slept three nights under Bacchus Drug Store because they were evicted. After the third night on the street, Fortune recalled, a man and his wife had car troubles and broke down in front of the store. His mother had some knowledge of vehicles and assisted them and when questioned about her presence on the street she told the couple she had nowhere to live. The couple provided housing for them for months until his mother was able to move off on her own again.
During the years he lived with her, he said, they must have moved about 15 times.
After she left the police force, Fortune said, his mother did domestic work and he recalled that many times he was fed by the people she worked for.
“I am grateful for all those who assisted me, all of my mother’s friends whenever she go and wash for them or so she would take me so all of her friends know me, and they would help. They would always ensure that I ate. And even after she passed away, like I said, a lot of strangers helped me and had me like family,” he said.
Suicide attempts
Fortune was almost 13 when he first attempted to take his own life. Other attempts followed.
“I still do feel kind of depressed when I think about what I have been through, but from time to time I have persons I would talk to who are in the field of counselling and persons who I would save got me back… and they would help me,” Fortune said, revealing that his last suicide attempt was two years ago.
Keeping very busy, Fortune said, helps. It particularly helped last year, when many persons faced depression because of the pandemic. He has been out in the field trying to assist those who are in need, especially those who were depressed.
“A lot of young people are faced with many issues in families. The other bad part about it is that families do not sit and talk to each other… I have never had that opportunity where any of my siblings or any of my relatives would sit and talk to me about what happened in the past… We have never had that conversation,” Fortune said.
He hopes to one day create a forum which encourages families to talk about issues facing them and to talk to each other. In that same vein, Fortune asked for single-parent mothers to love their children and protect them.
“Talk to them, see what’s bothering them, make them comfortable, put their needs above yours. There are a lot of mothers would not listen to their children. There are a lot of mothers who would put boyfriends in front of their children… I have known stories where mothers would have their children sleeping on the floor and the boyfriend and mother in the bed. That shouldn’t be,” Fortune said.
He advised mothers to love their children and teach them in the right way so that when they get old they would not fail them.
Youth for Better Living
Through it all, Fortune always knew he wanted to survive and because he was assisted, many times by strangers, over the years, even though he is far from accomplishing all he hopes for himself, he wanted to help others.
“That [persons helping him in his dire period in his life] is what really inspired me to reach out to people and help them because it was mostly stranger who helped to make me what I am today. They helped me with courses, they helped with food supplies, advice and various things…,” he said.
He is happy that 90% of the persons he has met in his lifetime have been helpful to him and as such he also wants to show love to those who are in need.
It was with this in mind and seeing that the racial tension in the country following the March 2, 2020 elections, he and others came together to form Youth for Better Living (YLB), which was forced to quickly change its course and assist the many Guyanese suffering because of the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was a rise of racism in Guyana. So, the group was launched in order to help reduce the racism by having young people from different races, different religions, different cultural backgrounds together… Unfortunately, COVID-19 came. What we have decided to do was reach out to persons who are affected and target groups, single parents and senior citizens,” he explained.
He recalled that initially during the national lockdown, as the country attempted to control the spread of the virus, many people were struggling to make ends meet and they realized food was needed and decided to distribute hampers to the vulnerable.
To fund the initiative, Fortune appeals to his followers on Facebook who contribute cash or kind. The group has since built a partnership with Ramroop’s Trading which not only gives them discounts, but makes donations on a monthly basis. The group has over 70 volunteers and they assist in the distribution of vitamins, tonics, masks and in some cases hampers.
Over the months, 1,000+ frontline workers in hospitals have been honoured by the group with a certificate of appreciation and a food basket through a partnership with the Maternal Infant Project International based in the US. Some 200 fire victims have also been assisted and children on the streets were given assistance along with homeless people who are helped with their personal grooming. Food items are also donated to orphanages and some people have received adult and baby diapers donated by people living overseas. Over that short period as well, Fortune said, they have donated walkers and wheelchairs.
But the group has not forgotten the core principle for its formation and Fortune said they condemn any form of racism on social media and reach out to individuals in an effort to change their way of thinking. The group has not really made an impact in this regard, but he said they are doing whatever they can in the confines of the COVID-19 protocols, and they have made a video with people of various races condemning racism.
