Moonlight Stars
A project by RHU

I was born in a small village in central Uganda. I grew up living with 7 siblings and both my parents. The conditions we grew up in were challenging, we had very little money and finding work was hard. Even though growing up there was a struggle I managed to go to school all the way until the end of high school. I only wish I could have continued to higher learning.

 

My sister came for me one day and took me with her to Kampala; she told my mother she was taking me to work there and I ended up being her house-girl for a while. When my sister would leave the house her husband would come to me asking for sex, I refused but he wouldn’t stop. The harassment was too much and finally I had to leave.

 

I started living with an old friend, and after a few years I met a nice man and we moved in together. I had my first born with him. Things were good until he started having a relationship with another woman and I decided to leave him. I took the baby and moved out but he came and took her away from me, moving her to a relative’s village. I wouldn’t stand for it, I was so upset and I turned to the police and got my child back.

 

After our separation I started working in a bar. I was there for quite a while but my wages were very low, and as my daughter grew up my expenses increased. I had a friend who was a sex worker and when I ran into these financial troubles she brought me in to work with her. At first I was shy and I didn’t know what to do. The other women would grab the men passing by, they would shout at them, but I just stood there looking around me. I barely got any money during this time, but then I learned how to get myself noticed and I started earning.

 

One of the clients that came to me developed a crush; he was nice to me, and he became my boyfriend. We moved into a single room house together and I put my child in a nearby home of a close friend of mine.  After some time I became pregnant again. Eight months into the pregnancy I was out on the street when the police raided our area. During an altercation with a policeman I fell on my stomach and had a miscarriage which almost cost me my life.

 

My partner cared for me at first, he took care of everything and let me rest for a while, but as time went by he became upset that I hadn’t conceived again. He started being abusive, he beat me and berated me and I went to the police and had him arrested. We never had peace in our house again, and we separated.

A year later my landlady raised the rent and I couldn’t afford to live there anymore. Today, I sleep in the lodges here in Ki-Mombasa where we work and I only leave on weekends to visit my daughter and bring her food and money or whatever else she needs.

 

I got to know RHU a long time ago. They came down and taught us about family planning, HIV testing and prevention, and more. We now we pass the information forward. It takes time for the new moonlight stars to trust you, you have to be persistent and not give up even if they brush you off in the beginning. RHU improved so much for us, we get free or very cheap services for things that were unaffordable before.

 

I have had a dream for quite some time which I have not been able to reach. I want to open a bar and was planning to a little while back, I found a place, bought a fridge, found a supplier for drinks, but the place burned down and I lost it all. I still hope I will be able to open that bar in the future.
Sometimes I sit at home and think about my life, I wonder how long I can go on like this because my work is illegal.  I am caring for my child and myself without help. I can’t get what I want out of life right now, but I have faith that a day will come when things will change.