7th April, 2011
Hamidah’s Story
‘I cannot remember much else about that day. My entire world just came crashing down when they told me. That’s when my life changed and I began doing it.'
Tears fill up her eyes as Hamidah Nambajjwe talks about the death of her father. She is one of many women in Uganda forced by circumstances into sex work as a means of economic survival.
'I moved in with a friend in Kampala. She was very good to me initially but after three weeks, she told me that I had to get a job. At the time, I had no technical skills, which made it impossible for me to get employed. My dream to go back to school was still alive, but appeared to be moving further from my grasp. I eventually convinced myself that I would do whatever it took to save enough money for my tuition.
My friend was already in the sex trade and she simply gave me the instructions on what to do and how to respond to the clients. I hated it initially, but sometimes life can be unpredictable and I had no other options. Every day I wanted to do something different; I just never saw a way out at the time. The longer I did it, the more it began to appear that that was the only thing out there for me.
'This is what I had been praying for. It sounded like my one chance to get out of the mess I had got myself into. My mind was made up and I have never looked back'
However, one day I met a woman who knew me from the village in Buloba and she insisted on taking me to the AMREF Centre. The people there did not judge me or look down on me. They took me in, counselled me and took me for voluntary testing for HIV. When I got a negative result for HIV, I felt as if my life had been given back to me.
The next day, after talking about my interests, I was advised to pursue the tailoring course that was being offered free at the AMREF Centre. This is what I had been praying for. It sounded like my one chance to get out of the mess I had got myself into. My mind was made up and I have never looked back.
After my tailoring course, I felt comfortable enough to go back home. I asked my mother for some room on her verandah where I started my tailoring business. Three months later I had opened a clothing shop. After seeing my progress, AMREF advised me to go for a design course, which they facilitated. I was very good at it and when I finished the course, I brought my skills back to the Centre, where I trained other girls. I quickly became an AMREF volunteer because many other girls in the community looked up to me.
Since I started working with AMREF, many people had suggested that I seek a leadership position. When the electioneering period kicked off late last year, I worked on a campaign based on my work with AMREF dubbed ‘Willing to serve and deliver’. As I had been counselling youth and training women, people already knew that I would work hard to support my community. I was elected a Councillor, and won with a huge majority. In fact, I had the largest number of votes of all candidates in all 14 polling centres in the six zones.'
Hamidah’s story highlights what true empowerment means. In last year’s general election in Uganda, Hamida was one of two beneficiaries of the project who ran for local government office. This achievement is all the more remarkable because it involves a group of women who have long been ostracised by society.
Through the AMREF Kawempe Commercial Sex Workers Project, many women like Hamidah have managed to turn their lives around. AMREF’s approach is to offer training that allows the women to pursue income-generating alternatives. AMREF also uses this platform to address health issues such as HIV and sexual reproductive health that affect most sex workers. The women in turn take on the role of transforming their own communities.