From Jeers to Cheers-Former jailbird now a respected community member.

Teenage years usually come with lot of temptations,indecision and peer pressure.Many have made it through unscathed while others  drowned in its sea of madness trying to "discover themselves" in the race to adulthood.Here find the story of a young woman who turned her  life upside down but is now in the process of rebuilding it. 

When results of her HIV test turned out to be negative,Asha*couldn’t believe it. For a moment, she was paralyzed with shock and confusion, much to the amazement of the health worker attending to her.
Thinking her client had not properly understood the results, the health worker quickly took her through post-test counseling. But in the end they had to redo the test, just to assure Asha that she really was negative. This moment changed her life forever.

Looking back now three years after the incident, Asha gonge is still trying to fathom how she escaped the deadly virus. The 23 year old resident of Bangladesh, the biggest informal settlement in Mombasa, confesses to had lived a dangerous life. Then, she abused drugs during the day and prostituted at night. Children were terrified of her gang, peers feared and parents despised them. Now a respected peer educator in her home area, Asha tells stories of how she couldn’t pass by the market during the day for fear of reproach from other women who accused her for sneaking around with their husbands. Then, she says she would sleep with any man who offered her cash, with or without protection, openly exposing herself to HIV/STI infection.

"At first I resisted their advances, but the men kept asking for sex. I had needs with no one to provide for me since both my parents were dead. So I thought, instead of giving it out for free, why not make money out of it?" Said Asha.

But Asha was not always a prostitute.

Ten years back in 2002, then at 13 years of age, she  lost her mother to Aids. While trying to come to terms with her mother’s demise, she joined a gang of robbers and muggers. She would run away from school to smoke bhang and lazy around with them, a habit that did not go well with her dad.

 In March 2004, after months of trying to get her to leave the gang without success, her strict father personally frog matched her to Shimo la Tewa police station. The next day she was sentenced to an 8 month prison term at Shimo la Tewa correctional center for loitering and disobedience to her parents.

Prison life was hard at first, but with time she adjusted to the lifestyle of limited freedom, half cooked food and hard labor.

 She met inmates who committed far much worse crimes than hers. Most were murderers, others robbers and con-artists, it was a gathering of worst of worst characters of the society. Rubbing shoulders with such people spelled disaster for Asha; she came out worse than she had gone in.

At the end of her term, she went back home and faithfully cleared her primary education in 2005.

 Unfortunately she couldn’t further her education because her then ailing father, couldn't afford the fees. Asha then opted to work as a house help in Mtwapa to support her two younger siblings. It was while working at this sex tourism haven, that she learnt how to make money from sex. Later on when her employment was terminated, she went back home and continued with her trade-this time not as a street walker but a community sex worker targeting men from her neighborhood, who were mostly married.

After her father’s death in 2008, Asha  went from bad to worse. She went back to her old gang, a feared lot in the community. They would rough up anyone who dared oppose them, including members of a local youth CBO called Alfa and Omega which she later joined. They would rudely disrupt their peer education sessions and corner their members accusing them of spreading lies.

Alfa and Omega is a CBO based in Mombasa using magnet theatre to mobilize communities into positive behavior change in relation to HIV, Malaria, TB. Although outwardly she was against the group , deep down Asha was drawn to their initiatives especially the skits. (Short plays conveying a specific message)

"When she asked to join the group, we didn’t want her. We thought it was one of her gang's plot to mock us". Remarked Alfa and Omega chairman  Hassan. "But being the bully she was, one day she demanded to play the role of a mother during a skit performance at the market. She was so good that later on we took her in as a temporary”.

Unfortunately being in the group did not automatically change Asha. Unknown to other members, she still smoked bhang and prostituted -habits she attributes to pressure from her former peers. 

While mobilizing for Counseling and testing outreach in 2009, Asha decided to go for testing. Following the life she had lived, she as well as everybody else who knew her assumed she was HIV +, she went for the test just to confirm her fears.

However the outcome was different, something she did not expect-she was HIV negative. Three months later, her negative status was formally confirmed at the Catholic diocese Voluntary Counseling and Testing centre. From then on her life took a different turn.

Now a fully fledged member, Asha says the trainings, outreaches and trainings she has gone through while in the group have helped mold her personality. She is an influential member of her community, a symbol of behavior change. She uses her experience to persuade other youth to take beneficial paths in life. Together with the group, they have seen a decrease in spread of HIV, alcoholism, robbery, rape and domestic violence, vices that were once common place in the informal settlement.

 Most of her former gang members are in jail, others died as a result of either AIDS, police shoot outs or mob justice.

"Now whenever I pass by the market, instead of jeers I get cheers. Am happy for the progress i have made" Said Asha now widely known as mama mtaa in Bangladesh. 

RESCUING RAMA

Handicapped children in Kenya often face a lot of challenges.Their parents as well.Without adequate resources ,stigma and  zero help from the government to cater for their children's special needs,many end up making very drastic decisions.This is one of their stories..............

Had Awino not intervened, Rama would probably still be hidden, locked away in their poorly lit home, playing with little metal tins  and bottle tops,  completely secluded from the outside world.

 Rama 12, is a mentally and physically challenged child residing in Moroto, an informal settlement in Mombasa. As Community health worker Awino narrates, for 7 years his mother Kadzo hid him, perhaps fearing shame and social stigma handicapped children and their parents are subjected to.

 He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy nine months after birth, a condition his therapist told us,he developed due to lack of ante-natal care, the prolonged labor and other complications his mother developed at the hands of an unskilled birth attendant.

  It was during one of her routine household visits that Awino met Rama after a tip-off from neighbors’ that there was a disabled child at the home. Despite making regular visits to the home, Awino had not been aware of Rama's existence; the mother hid him from her too.

“He was like a wild animal terrified of strangers and bright light. He would often scream and hide behind curtains whenever he saw me” explained Awino.

From then on, Awino made regular visits to the home trying to persuade the mother to let him out of the house. With knowledge acquired from a Medicare training for community health workers sponsored by a local NGO, she started providing the family with psycho-social care and ointments to care for bruises he gets from crawling around earthen floors. She also encouraged Kadzo to enroll him into a special school.

Eventually Kadzo warmed up to the idea and took him to Tom Mboya special school. In 2012 she transferred him to an even better institution, Portreitz School for the mentally handicapped where he now boards full-time and only comes home during holidays. There, he gets physiotherapy to coordinate his movement and to straighten limbs and fingers which deformed during the of neglect.

His caregivers are however optimistic that he will soon be able to write as he can now hold a pen, brush his teeth and go to the toilet by himself! His social skills have also greatly improved as he now plays and interacts freely with other pupils and teachers. His physiotherapist says his progress is incredible for a child who had been neglected.

“Rama is a quick learner. All he needs is comprehensive therapy and in a few years he will be able to not only walk but also do a lot of things by himself. He has moved from the wheelchair and is now training on the walking frame” He said

Raising his fees of 2500/= per term and catering for his other expenses however remains an everyday struggle for the mother who runs a fish mongering business. The father, despite being present, alive and well, does nothing to support his family.

 However Kadzo rejoices at the progress her child has made. “I had lost hope in Rama ever learning anything. Seeing how much he has   progressed, him laughing and playing with others makes me happy. I regret not having taken him to school early; he would have been very far by now.But am thankful that he finally has hope of growing up like any other child.”She said fighting back tears.

NOTE:NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT IDENTITIES 

finding fortunes in community work

Finding fortunes in community work

 

As he told his story for perhaps the hundredth time, Leon* broke down again. This time in front of a packed Almere auditorium at Almere high school  in Netherlands. He cursed himself. But could not hold back the tears. Narrating the tragic story of his life and encounters with HIV/AIDS meant reliving the pain and horror of the past all over again.

 

The teachers and students gathered for Dance 4 life concert listened in disbelief and wept with him. Most had heard of similar stories in News, from books and papers, this was the first time they were actually meeting someone with a personal experience.

 

“If someone had told me years ago that I would be in Europe today telling my story to the world. I would have taken it as an insult. I had lost all hope for a better future,” said Leon to his audience while fighting back tears.

 

Leon 22, manages a CBO working with the APHIA- plus program in the HIV/AIDS initiatives in his home area of Bangladesh, an informal settlement in Mombasa. He was in Holland courtesy of Dance 4 life, a worldwide movement that uses dance, music, youth and media icons to create awareness on HIV/AIDS among young people. Leon was selected as the African ambassador for the 2011 tour from over 40 participants owing to his history with the epidemic and his contribution to fighting it in his community.

 

Leon has lost half his family to AIDS. Over the years, he has seen siblings, relatives and neighbours succumb to it effects. Born in a polygamous family of four stepmothers and over 12 siblings, Alfred grew up in abject neglect and poverty. His father,  now deceased, was the sole bread winner who depended on odd jobs to feed his large family. There was hardly enough to go around, a characteristic lifestyle with informal settlements.

 

In 2009 after high school, together with other like-minded youth in his community, he formed Alfa & Omega, a CBO that has since helped raise awareness on the epidemic in his small Bangladesh community.

 

He tells stories of how he has nursed several relatives and friends in their last stages of AIDS only to watch them wither and die right in front of him. In one incident, his critically sick uncle died on him on their way to his rural home in Simenya, Nyanza province. He and the owner of private vehicle who had been kind enough to carry them had to play hide and seek with the police for the rest of the 500 km to his rural home.

 

The most touching however, has to be the struggle to save his father, Henry. Although the father, had been aware of his positive status, he refused to seek medication because of the stigma that was then associated with people spotted going for ARV's at the Catholic hospital. See, for years he had been on the forefront of HIV prevention initiatives, so discovery of his positive status disappointed not only him but also his community. From then on he lived in denial and slowly sunk into depression.

 

After finishing his O levels 2008, Leon came home to find his dad in a bad state of health, sick and abandoned by his stepmothers and relatives. Attempts to get him on ART proved futile as his CD4 count was too high.Henry finally succumbed to opportunistic infections in April 2010, leaving Leon then only 20, to fend for his younger siblings. Two of his older siblings had died of AIDS earlier in the year.

 

Since then, Leon has depended on the little handouts he gets from projects done by the CBO and well-wishers to provide for his family. He is yet to be employed. Two of his siblings were lucky to get sponsors for their high school education. With the   allowances he got from the dance 4 life tour, he opened a small scale business for his biological mother  Adhiambo, who has since relocated to Mombasa from the village where she lived after leaving Alfred's father when he married a second wife. This decision she now realises, saved her from a dangerous chain of HIV infection.

 

 Alfa & Omega now has 25 young vibrant members involved in initiatives and community outreaches addressing HIV/AIDS issues and other social ills. They performed a wonderful play teaching on need of prevention during the Coast province World Aids day 2011 celebrations in Mombasa much to the delight of the audience. A true statement of the good work they are doing to sensitize the community on HIV, directed by Leon.

 

It is with such a history that Leon won the hearts of the Dance- 4- life crew. The Europe tour he says was unforgettable, a highlight of his life. During the 3 months he was in Holland, he visited to schools and colleges in Amsterdam, Hague and Almere sharing his testimony, literally taking the reality of living with HIV in a Kenyan slum to them. He touched many lives. He met music icons, media personalities, visited state of the art amusement parks and even got the rare chance of dining with the Holland monarch.

 

Leon continues to use his brain child Alfa & Omega to work with donors to bring a difference to Bangladesh. He hopes to use his experience abroad to make changes on the ground and inspire other youth from his low income community to desist from idleness and crime and instead engage in community work, and just like him they may find fortunes in it.

 

 

 

 

NOTE: Names and photos withheld to protect the identities of the subjects

changing lives

In my line of work,i get to interact with many youths.Most who are under-privileged but whose lives our behaviour change programs has impacted positively.They have risen from drug addiction,prostitution,crime to inspirational individuals.They have chosen to become better people for themselves,their communities and their country.Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing  stories on this blog. Watch this space!

In the wild

 Saw this animal at Tsavo national park.Looks like some kind of antelope,but bigger.very rare indeed.       Still trying to figure out what its name is. 

Beautiful country this is..magical kenya

malindi intrigues

Am always fascinated whenever i go to Malindi.This is one of those  places in Kenya as there is always something new to see,explore and most important eat!
This time i was in Gede ,i few kilo-meters from Malindi town,shooting a documentary on livelihood projects initiated by the community.
Some Gede villagers  have started a crab breeding project down next to the sea at Gede creek which they sell to neighbouring tourist hotels fetching them good money.
One big ass crab can go for as much as Ksh 1500.A wooden board-walk leads the way through the mangrove  trees to a restaurant  overlooking the sea.There a chef always ready to sauce up some delicious crab whether roasted,fried or grilled,however you  want it! its so romantic i tell u!

The place is isolated so there is lots of privacy and you can get a canoe ride if you wish to have some water experience.These rides remind me of the amazon..but thats just me..

at the restaurant

I have heard of Mida creek,a place with similar scenery and with more interesting scenes and stuff to see.Will give you a scoop when i get there!

project Lamu!

Only in Lamu do you find a grown up man comfortably seated on a donkey,two sizes smaller to  his body weight and proudly riding away.i still wonder how they do it!

check out the scenery!

now this is what i call animal abuse!

I was there last week with a group of colleagues doing a mentor-ship visit to area facilities in this marginalised part of Kenya.

But the boat rides rock!.i mean i can ride theses things all day long with content.And with the coming of the port,i really should consider getting a job at KAA and spend the rest of my days cruising the islands.Bliss!


Speaking of the port,this initiative looks like it will turn this area into a gold mine.For one,the once impassable  Malindi -Lamu highly is under repair or what others may call under construction .What was once a 4 hour trip is now 1hr 30 min ride and is bound to be even shorter once its done.

Funny enough only government and foreigners see the benefits of the port,residents don't.Ali our speed boat attendant or pilot as they would rather be called,told us he foresees disaster for his transport business.He claims that once the big ships start coming in they will not be allowed anywhere near the ports.Others claim the port will expose them to immoral western influences like drug abuse and prostitution like in Mombasa  and  more Al-shabaab attacks.

Now that its construction was officially started in last week on 2nd March 2012,And the Al-shabaab factor hanging in a balance ,we have to wait and see what's its going t be; blessing of curse!

yum yum!

some delicious swahili dish

Decemba!

The much deserved holidays were here now gone.I made sure i had the time of my life knowing  life in the office this year is going to be alot more complicated for reasons i do not wish to discuss.

Anyhoo, had a fab time with family and friends in south coast Mombasa.One of the best places to be on earth this time of the year.The amount of meat,drinks,energy and sleep i have consumed during this period,is alarming.Surprised i gained no wait though even after all that eating.

New years eve was the best though there were no fireworks ,many thanks to Al shabaab!!it was still fun though.

This year i have no resolutions i always break them before the end of the month so wats the point! Am just gonna live my lyfe... one day at a time!