Moonlight Stars
A project by RHU

I was born is Western Uganda and grew up with friends and with my sisters. My life in the village was ok and I remember I had a happy childhood. I went to school until I was 13 and then our money ran out. I spent my time working around the house helping my grandmother.

 

A few years later I became pregnant with my first child; my mother had passed away and I was left without any resources or options in the village, I decided it was time to leave and followed my auntie to Kampala. Unfortunately living with my auntie was not easy and she did not treat me very well, I eventually moved out of her house and into my sister’s house.

 

Time went on and money was tight. I had to find money for me and my son. I met a group of women who were sex workers and they persuaded me to join them. At first I was quite scared to begin working but my friends encouraged me by reminding me that I need the money. I also learned to drink and smoke marijuana back then, I didn’t do it before but my fellow moonlight stars explained that it helps you work because you feel things a little less. Some of the women that I worked with when I started out have since passed away, some were killed by clients.

 

Today, almost ten years later I have a working routine, and the fear is numbed. I live in Ki-Mombasa and work starts from the moment I wake up in the morning. Our work is illegal and police raids are often so I cannot limit myself to one time of day. I have another child, my daughter who is nine years old. She lives with her father’s mother in the village, but I wish I could bring her to Kampala where she could get a decent education. It is very important for her to be educated; she needs to grow up and get a good job, and to not follow my footsteps.

 

I got to know RHU in 2007. Fred the RHU counselor came to our area and it was so unexpected that I thought he was a client, after the initial confusion he explained who he is and what RHU does and he invited me to be a peer educator. The training we received was helpful and it is on-going, we’re always learning new things. Working with RHU we get to assist our friends with issues like pregnancy, STDs and HIV treatment. The community loves RHU because they allow us to spread the information that keeps people safe.

 

Sometimes we even educate our clients many of them come to us and ask to not use a condom. Over time we learned how to explain the risks to them. We don’t yell at them or scold them, we teach them and they hear us.

 

I dream that one day I can open a small boutique. I want to stop being a moonlight star and open a shop where I sell clothing. RHU taught us business skills and I have the knowledge, all I need now is the capital.