I recently met a young lady who had suffered numerous adversities in her life. Her smile is still bright, her gait even, and her heart full of hope. You see, she was born first in a family of six children in an impoverished part of Nairobi. Her mother sold illicit brews and occasionally herself to support them. Her father was the master of the house and anything he said was law. When she was 12 years old, her parents decided that she was ready to earn her keep. They therefore began to sell her to the highest bidder for sexual favours. The money was coming in quickly because she was quite beautiful and her innocence was an added advantage.
After suffering this for 2 years, she ran away and was rescued by a local organization that helps girls and women. She went back to school, got good grades and joined a high school on a scholarship. Herein, she met her former neighbours who taunted her with her past, but she ignored them. When the taunting did not stop, she challenged them to a math competition. She won. They of course had to defend their 'manhood' so they raped her. There were six of them.
When I met her at the hospital, she was smiling, planning how she will go back to school, regardless of the fact that the boys are in the same school. 'I have a vision', she told me. 'I will be a social worker. I have been to hell and back and I want to encourage everyone that no matter the situation, there is always hope.”
« return.