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Rosa's
story: Weaving her way to a better life
Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA)
May 04, 2006
http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/CIDAWEB/acdicida.nsf/En/EMA-218113157-MN3
Sex work in
the slums of Nairobi is an extremely dangerous way of life. As a
commercial sex worker, Rosa would ply her trade out of her one room
house or in the bars. She sometimes needed as many as 10 customers
a day just to get by. When she tried to negotiate the use of condoms,
some of the men turned violent. And sometimes the police would harass
her and demand free sex in exchange for "dropping charges."
Those days are
behind her now. Rosa has a thriving hairdressing business in one
of Nairobi's markets. With its single sink and hair dryer, the space
is small but it's decorated with pictures of lovely young
women in different hair styles. Rosa and her sister often do a "weave,"
which has become very popular in the city. By weaving synthetic
hair into natural braids, they add length to allow their customers
to create different hair styles. The girls chat, laughing and waving
to passers-by in the crowded narrow lane outside the shop. When
a friend drops in, Rosa leaves the weaving for a private conversation
in the corner.
Rosa is one
of more than 100 women in Nairobi who have received credit to set
up small businesses through a project funded by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA).
The credit scheme
is just one component of a much larger project. For the past decade,
the University of Manitoba and the University of Nairobi have worked
together to control HIV/AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), in Nairobi and Nakuru, a thriving market town north
of Nairobi with a HIV infection rate of 11%. Over the years, working
through 10 primary health care facilities, the project has controlled
STD transmission in these areas and promoted condom use. In Nairobi,
for example, data show that STDs have been drastically reduced at
project clinics and 80% of sex workers use condoms. Most encouraging
of all, between 1992 and 1999, the incidence of HIV among women
under 20 years of age dropped from 21% to 14%.
One of the keys
to the project's success has been peer-led, community-based
education among commercial sex workers. In addition to her hairdressing,
for example, Rosa offers information and support to young women
regarding safe sex and the prevention of HIV/AIDS, passing on knowledge
she learned as a commercial sex worker peer educator. By sharing
what she's learned, Rosa is helping other young women to weave
a better life for themselves too.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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