Days after speaking publicly of the challenges he has been battling for months, TikTok star and former Tusker Project Fame (TPF) contestant Alvan Gatitu has received a whooping Ksh2.1 million donation from well-wishers.
On Sunday, 5:30 am, he recorded a moving video shared widely on social media seeking to crush the lie of glitz and glamour coming with a celebrity life.
He sadly narrated that he had been locked out by his landlord over rent arrears for a few months forcing him to seek shelter in a guard’s room far from his house.
Touched by his plight, Kenyans of goodwill fundraised to a tune of Ksh2.1 million according to Ndungu Nyoro a social media moibilizer.
“Yesterday (Monday) we were at Sh1.4million. Today (Tuesday), Kenyans have made it Sh2.1million! It’s unfathomable how this happened, but as a believer, I know God was in it. Alvan just needed to raise his voice,” Nyoro wrote on his Facebook page.
“Thank you Kenyans for saying it’s OK for a man to say he’s pressed. You know, making it possible for other men to speak out when need be,” he added.
He says that besides his rent arrears, he had his water and electricity disconnected for close to two weeks. This is despite working so hard to make ends meet.
“My landlady and landlord waliamua wako na shida zao na mimi nikae na zangu so mimi nililala nje (they decided they have their own problems and I have mine so I should sleep outside). Please note that as this was happening nilikuwa nimekatiwa maji na stima for one and a half weeks. Just trying to make ends meet,” Gatitu plaintively said in the video.
He detailed that even his closest friends despite reaching out to them for help, are not able to help him out because, they too, have problems of their own.
In the video, he says that he is not ashamed of coming out adding that he intends to end the shame and pretence that is part of celebrity life.
“There is a day that comes when you can’t put two and two together and even your friends will fail you, even the brightest fail at times. This is a message to everyone out there, I am here to remove the whole celebrity façade by keeping it real,” he opines.
He adds: “I’m just here to remove the whole celebrity lie. You can trend for months and still have nothing going for you. You can be popular but still struggling and I’m here to remove the same, let’s not pretend.”
