Moonlight Stars
A project by RHU

I was born in Eastern Uganda to a large family. We were all living together until my father died when I was 8 years old and we were divided up within our extended family. Life in the village was not bad, we didn’t have much but we had enough; though we didn’t have shoes we always had clothing, and though we usually couldn’t get breakfast we always had lunch and dinner. I lived with my aunt and uncle, their kids and my sister and brother. We were all friends and got along while we were growing up.

 

My guardians allowed for me to go to school and when I finished high school I moved to Kampala to continue my education. Though my aunt and uncle paid my tuition, I had to cover the rest of my expenses on my own. My 1st semester was a real struggle, finding food and paying for accommodation while still trying to focus on my studies felt almost impossible at times.  Finally, a friend from campus told me about working as a moonlight star and I decided to join her.

 

Our close friends knew, but we kept it a secret from most of the people on campus. I struggled with it in the beginning and my friend told me that without drinking I won’t be free and the men won’t come to me. Being a Muslim I had never had a drink before, but I did now. I am pretty sure that I am the first person in my family to drink alcohol. It was a bad time in my life, sometimes it felt like a nightmare, but with time I got used to it all. In the village men court you before you have sex, it was hard to have sex with strangers.

 

I was almost done with school; in fact, I had only one semester left to graduate with a teaching degree. I had done all the classes and the internship as well. But in the course of my work I became pregnant and when my family heard of this they told me to go into my husband’s custody. I couldn’t tell them that I did not know the man and he couldn’t care for me, so I never finished school.

 

I am now used to the work we do, but I face challenges like the risk of arrest, and bad treatment from society. Being a moonlight star makes you an outcast; people view you as immoral almost to a point of not being human. Our children suffer from this as well and sometimes we need to make hard decisions because of the way they are treated.

 

I got to know RHU through a friend of mine who was a peer educator, she told me they are good people and that I should go visit them. When I arrived there they were very welcoming, they listened to me. They taught me about safety, both in terms of health and my personal security. They explained how to identify and avoid the men who are abusive.

 

Today, I am a peer educator and my knowledge as a trained teacher helps me with that. I have had psychology and ethics courses that help me understand people and guide me through this work. I am able, in this way, to be a role model for my fellow moonlight stars. Every day we see more women beginning to work and it is important to explain to them that no matter how much a man pays you, never abandon protection. Take care of yourself.

 

I now have a loving man in my life. We have been together 6 years and have a child together and another on the way.  I hope one day I can finish my degree and become a certified teacher. What I want for my life is safety and security, and I want to no longer suffer from discrimination.