I am paid to re-write text, and make it more consumer-friendly. This is a sample of a recent piece:
MY EDITS:
There are several accounts of torture, rape and murder of migrants at the hand of smugglers and traffickers in Egypt’s Sinai desert. A few migrants make it safely into Israel. A big majority, however, end up in Egypt’s detention centres.
Migrants are crammed into damp, overcrowded prisons, with little or no access to basic health care services. Here, they spend many months, awaiting repatriation or deportation.
The Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM) conducted an extensive health assessment on migrants in 16 detention centres across three border towns in Egypt: Sinai, Aswan and Luxor.
More than 1,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan were given medical assistance, food, and clothes.
The assessment was designed to identify urgent health needs, and to strengthen Egypt’s referral system for injured migrants in detention centres.
Guided by the findings from the assessment, IOM has started conducting public health training for police officers and border officials. It also intends to build the capacity of hospitals to address the health care needs of detained migrants.
ORIGINAL PIECE:
Migrants transiting through Egypt are often vulnerable; over the past few months, IOM has obtained considerable insight into the exploitation and abuse that has been inflicted upon migrants who are smuggled and trafficked from northern Ethiopia and Sudan to Israel, via Egypt. Along this route (and, in particular, in the Sinai Peninsula), migrants have been held ‘hostage’ by their smugglers, who demand up to an extra USD 40,000 to take them across the Israeli border, while subjecting them to forced labor, sexual exploitation and torture. Others are injured whilst trying to cross Egypt’s southern or eastern borders and/or apprehended and transferred to ill-equipped police stations and detention centers – where they often spend protracted periods awaiting repatriation or deportation. An extensive health assessment has been conducted of most detention centers in Egypt currently holding migrants for illegal border crossing looking at the health needs of apprehended migrants and at their current access to health care. A total of 16 police stations have been visited – most are located in Sinai and Aswan/Luxor area. All detainees visited (over 1000 detainees mostly from Eritrea and some from Sudan and Ethiopia) were provided with Non Food Items, food, and medical assessments and assistance when required. The assessment identified urgent health needs, including those of injured migrants shot at the border as well as urgent health needs in detention centers to address cases of TB, childhood diarrhea, and pregnant women. The assessment identified serious concerns not only at the level of the detention facilities but also at the level of the healthcare facilities serving apprehended migrants. As well as continuing the above mentioned activities, plans are underway to start conducting public health training for police officers and border officials as well as to strengthen the referral mechanism for injured migrants to the appropriate health care facility and to build the capacity of hospitals to address the health needs of apprehended migrants.
END//
Region: Egypt, North Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" her facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
EXTREME MAKE-OVER: Nutrition survey
I am paid to re-write text, and make it more consumer-friendly. This is a sample of a recent piece:
MY EDITS:
The Republic of Yemen, south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman, is surrounded by a host of oil-rich nations. Yet the strife-torn country is characterized by endemic poverty, weak health systems, and a severe shortage of water.
And now, a door-to-door survey conducted by the Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM) in September 2011 reveals that some parts of the country are also grappling with soaring rates of malnutrition.
900 children under the age of five participated in the survey, which was conducted in the Republic of Yemen’s northern Al-Jawf region. Results revealed that the country is on the verge of an emergency, with twice as many girls as boys found to have acute malnutrition.
The number of children suffering from malnutrition is expected to rise, owing to escalating civil strife, which makes the already hard-to-reach northern Al-Jawf region, more excluded from humanitarian assistance. Traditional practices like giving boys better food than girls, are expected to leave girls more vulnerable to malnutrition.
ORIGINAL PIECE:
IOM conducted a household nutrition survey of children under-5 in 6 districts of Northern Al-Jawf in September where IOM’s 5 mobile clinics are operating. The survey was implemented as part of a vulnerability assessment of the Al Jawf population. 900 children under five were measured for their age, height and weight from 30 villages across the six districts. The result of this assessment shows that 7.7% of the children suffer from SAM and 21% from MAM, both indicators being above the emergency threshold. Furthermore, when the same information is analyzed based on gender, it was found out that the proportion of girls suffering from acute malnutrition is significantly higher than boys, notably SAM (9.0% of girls and 5.7% of boys) – girls are 1.6 times more likely than boys to suffer from SAM. With the ongoing crisis affecting the whole country, and further isolation of Al-Jawf from the very limited basic services available to the Yemeni population, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is expected to rise even more in the coming months, which will ultimately result in higher morbidity and mortality. The traditional attitude of providing better food and care for boys will especially put girls even more at risk. OFDA funding July 2010 – December 2011.
END//
Region: Yemen, Middle East
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" her facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
MY EDITS:
The Republic of Yemen, south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman, is surrounded by a host of oil-rich nations. Yet the strife-torn country is characterized by endemic poverty, weak health systems, and a severe shortage of water.
And now, a door-to-door survey conducted by the Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM) in September 2011 reveals that some parts of the country are also grappling with soaring rates of malnutrition.
900 children under the age of five participated in the survey, which was conducted in the Republic of Yemen’s northern Al-Jawf region. Results revealed that the country is on the verge of an emergency, with twice as many girls as boys found to have acute malnutrition.
The number of children suffering from malnutrition is expected to rise, owing to escalating civil strife, which makes the already hard-to-reach northern Al-Jawf region, more excluded from humanitarian assistance. Traditional practices like giving boys better food than girls, are expected to leave girls more vulnerable to malnutrition.
ORIGINAL PIECE:
IOM conducted a household nutrition survey of children under-5 in 6 districts of Northern Al-Jawf in September where IOM’s 5 mobile clinics are operating. The survey was implemented as part of a vulnerability assessment of the Al Jawf population. 900 children under five were measured for their age, height and weight from 30 villages across the six districts. The result of this assessment shows that 7.7% of the children suffer from SAM and 21% from MAM, both indicators being above the emergency threshold. Furthermore, when the same information is analyzed based on gender, it was found out that the proportion of girls suffering from acute malnutrition is significantly higher than boys, notably SAM (9.0% of girls and 5.7% of boys) – girls are 1.6 times more likely than boys to suffer from SAM. With the ongoing crisis affecting the whole country, and further isolation of Al-Jawf from the very limited basic services available to the Yemeni population, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is expected to rise even more in the coming months, which will ultimately result in higher morbidity and mortality. The traditional attitude of providing better food and care for boys will especially put girls even more at risk. OFDA funding July 2010 – December 2011.
END//
Region: Yemen, Middle East
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" her facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Teaser...
I prepared this is teaser for one of our departments. A new project is rolling out; we wanted to get word out to HQ. Specific names and title have been omitted:
For the first time in 21 years, the Government of Dddddd's lead agency on technical cooperation is rolling out a humanitarian project in Xxxx.
On 13 January 2012, the XXxxxxxxxx Agency (DILA) contributed over half a million USD to IOM's migration health division to launch a pilot project in Xxxx for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Zzzzzz.
In response to the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 60 years, the three-month pilot project will aim provide clean and safe drinking water to vulnerable IDPs in South Central Zzzzzzz.
The pilot project is unique because it is based on a public-private partnership that utilizes an innovative, environmentally friendly, Japanese - developed water treatment technology called Ttt-ttt.
The project is entitled: 'KKkkkkkkkkkk', and is expected to be launched on 20 February 2012.
END//
Region: Egypt, North Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" her facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
For the first time in 21 years, the Government of Dddddd's lead agency on technical cooperation is rolling out a humanitarian project in Xxxx.
On 13 January 2012, the XXxxxxxxxx Agency (DILA) contributed over half a million USD to IOM's migration health division to launch a pilot project in Xxxx for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Zzzzzz.
In response to the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 60 years, the three-month pilot project will aim provide clean and safe drinking water to vulnerable IDPs in South Central Zzzzzzz.
The pilot project is unique because it is based on a public-private partnership that utilizes an innovative, environmentally friendly, Japanese - developed water treatment technology called Ttt-ttt.
The project is entitled: 'KKkkkkkkkkkk', and is expected to be launched on 20 February 2012.
END//
Region: Egypt, North Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" her facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Q&A - Partnerships that count
These are the questions that I put together for a Q&A session with one of our partners in Egypt (North Africa). Specific names & titles have been deleted:
Recently, XXX was selected as one of the core recipients of a 1.5 million euros grant given by YYYY towards humanitarian assistance in Libya. Mr. ZZZ, senior regional officer for Humanitarian Affairs with the Embassy of YYYY to Egypt, talks to XXX:
1. What role does health have to play in humanitarian responses?
2. What are some of the Embassy of YYYY’s health priorities in the northern region of Africa?
3. What are some of the biggest health care challenges that displaced populations are still grappling with in Egypt, in the wake of the latest outbreak of unrest?
4. What key lessons has the Embassy of YYYYY learned about managing the redevelopment of health care systems post-conflict?
5. How is the Embassy of YYYY and XXX working together to improve the health care system for populations that were displaced as a result of the wave of demonstrations and protests?
6. What has been the foremost success of the Embassy of YYY and XXX’s joint collaboration?
END//
Region: Egypt, North Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Recently, XXX was selected as one of the core recipients of a 1.5 million euros grant given by YYYY towards humanitarian assistance in Libya. Mr. ZZZ, senior regional officer for Humanitarian Affairs with the Embassy of YYYY to Egypt, talks to XXX:
1. What role does health have to play in humanitarian responses?
2. What are some of the Embassy of YYYY’s health priorities in the northern region of Africa?
3. What are some of the biggest health care challenges that displaced populations are still grappling with in Egypt, in the wake of the latest outbreak of unrest?
4. What key lessons has the Embassy of YYYYY learned about managing the redevelopment of health care systems post-conflict?
5. How is the Embassy of YYYY and XXX working together to improve the health care system for populations that were displaced as a result of the wave of demonstrations and protests?
6. What has been the foremost success of the Embassy of YYY and XXX’s joint collaboration?
END//
Region: Egypt, North Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Humanitarian assistance
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Monday, January 9, 2012
Editorial...
It took me a while to write this Editorial ... #WritersBlock! I wrote this for the #PowersThatBe - it's for the next edition of the newsletter. (PS: Most of these figures are not accurate, I just needed place holders.) Keep your eyes out for the newsletter!
12 million people are currently affected by prolonged drought and food shortages in the Horn of Africa. The worst drought in 60 years is sweeping across the region, and has sparked a food crisis in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.
In this issue, we will see how the drought is affecting thousands, and how the Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM)is providing essential health care.
Our mobile medical rapid response teams are delivering much-needed basic health care to hard-to-reach populations in the world’s newest country, South Sudan. The country is emerging from years of conflict, and faces many health care challenges. More than 75 per cent of the population lack access to basic health care.
We shall discuss sex work and HIV in a cross-border setting along the Tanzanian-Kenya border. We will also examine how we are meeting the needs of vulnerable migrants in Somalia and the urgent scale-up needed for combined strategies to stop the spread of HIV.
In the last six months, IOM’s Health Division conducted over 800,000 health assessments across Africa and the Middle East, and provided health care for over 7,800 migrants in the Republic of Yemen. 12 health assessment centres have been established in Ethiopia, and 10,000 internally displaced persons in Zambia and Malawi have been reached via our mobile health teams.
Last year, IOM celebrated its 60th anniversary. It has been an unprecedented journey. Since our inception in 1951, we have grown to become the leading international agency working with governments and civil society in the field of migration. From our offices around the world, we seek to advance orderly and humane migration.
But this progress is still overshadowed by today’s realities. One area which requires global attention is scaling up equitable access to migrant-friendly HIV services for migrants and mobile populations. There are close to 200 million migrants around the world today. This is one in every 35 people.
Only through partnerships are we able to manage migration. This newsletter serves to highlight some of the ways IOM, and our partners, are making a difference.
Name: XXXXXX
Title: XXXXX
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
12 million people are currently affected by prolonged drought and food shortages in the Horn of Africa. The worst drought in 60 years is sweeping across the region, and has sparked a food crisis in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.
In this issue, we will see how the drought is affecting thousands, and how the Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM)is providing essential health care.
Our mobile medical rapid response teams are delivering much-needed basic health care to hard-to-reach populations in the world’s newest country, South Sudan. The country is emerging from years of conflict, and faces many health care challenges. More than 75 per cent of the population lack access to basic health care.
We shall discuss sex work and HIV in a cross-border setting along the Tanzanian-Kenya border. We will also examine how we are meeting the needs of vulnerable migrants in Somalia and the urgent scale-up needed for combined strategies to stop the spread of HIV.
In the last six months, IOM’s Health Division conducted over 800,000 health assessments across Africa and the Middle East, and provided health care for over 7,800 migrants in the Republic of Yemen. 12 health assessment centres have been established in Ethiopia, and 10,000 internally displaced persons in Zambia and Malawi have been reached via our mobile health teams.
Last year, IOM celebrated its 60th anniversary. It has been an unprecedented journey. Since our inception in 1951, we have grown to become the leading international agency working with governments and civil society in the field of migration. From our offices around the world, we seek to advance orderly and humane migration.
But this progress is still overshadowed by today’s realities. One area which requires global attention is scaling up equitable access to migrant-friendly HIV services for migrants and mobile populations. There are close to 200 million migrants around the world today. This is one in every 35 people.
Only through partnerships are we able to manage migration. This newsletter serves to highlight some of the ways IOM, and our partners, are making a difference.
Name: XXXXXX
Title: XXXXX
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
A journey through drought-ravaged northwestern region of Kenya
I just got back from a mission - this is the story I filed...
Worst drought in 60 years
It is unbearably hot in Turkana. Sprawling empty arid land stretches for miles. The worst drought in 60 years has swept across the Horn of Africa, leading to the death of livestock, crops, and children. Over 12 million people are affected, including the residents of Turkana, a district in north-west Kenya.
“I could walk up to four hours away from my house in search of water,” Alice Napong, a resident of Napadal village in northern Turkana, says.
She drapes her son to her back, places an empty container on her head, and reaches for a small container with her right hand: “We have always had to search for water, but it has never been this hard.”
Weak health systems
The nearest health centre is kilometres away, leaving pastoralist communities in remote areas of Turkana vulnerable. With limited access to safe drinking water and essential health care, waterborne and water-related diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera are common challenges. Such diseases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution and antibiotics, but in regions like Turkana, health centres are rare, and the few that exist lack basic supplies and qualified health staff.
Worldwide, around 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water sources and 2.4 billion have no basic sanitation. Waterborne diseases are a leading cause of preventable deaths around the world, and are among the five major causes of death in children under the age of five.
Health promotion
“My five daughters are consistently suffering from akirem (diarrhoea),” says Alice.
Alice and her children are one of many families who have received treatment for diarrhoeal diseases from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, IOM’s mobile medical rapid response teams go to hard-to-reach mobile communities in Turkana. Equipped with re-hydration sachets, chlorine water treatment tablets, de-worming tablets, and drugs for common medical conditions, the teams distribute much needed medication and conduct mass de-worming campaigns.
Small changes can have a big impact, which has been proven by health and hygiene promotion talks that IOM is also running. Sensitive to sustainability and cultural practices, IOM’s health promotion campaign complements local knowledge with indigenous solutions. For example, communities are encouraged to wash their hands with ash, a local disinfectant that is free and easily accessible. 55,000 vulnerable members of the community are being targeted by IOM’s outreach.
In 2009 and 2010, IOM dispatched four teams on similar missions to crisis-affected communities in Kenya’s Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza provinces that were struggling to prevent and fight against waterborne diseases. Over 492,000 people benefited.
According to Grace Khaguli, Field Coordinator for IOM’s emergency health project in Turkana: “Due to the scale of the drought, water is scarce. This makes Alice Napong and her daughters more inclined to drink dirty, unsafe water. What is happening to them is replicated in households across Turkana.”
Residents use contaminated water, and the area has very few toilets, which contributes to improper waste disposal.”
Senior Elder Echepan Ngelecha, a community leader in Nadapal Village, says: “In our culture, we divide illnesses into those caused by God and those caused by Ngidekesiney ka ekapilan (witchcraft). Thanks to IOM, we are now aware that we can do certain things to prevent illnesses. This partnership needs to continue because it takes time to change behaviour, like remembering to use ash when we wash our hands in order to prevent the spread of diseases.”
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Worst drought in 60 years
It is unbearably hot in Turkana. Sprawling empty arid land stretches for miles. The worst drought in 60 years has swept across the Horn of Africa, leading to the death of livestock, crops, and children. Over 12 million people are affected, including the residents of Turkana, a district in north-west Kenya.
“I could walk up to four hours away from my house in search of water,” Alice Napong, a resident of Napadal village in northern Turkana, says.
She drapes her son to her back, places an empty container on her head, and reaches for a small container with her right hand: “We have always had to search for water, but it has never been this hard.”
Weak health systems
The nearest health centre is kilometres away, leaving pastoralist communities in remote areas of Turkana vulnerable. With limited access to safe drinking water and essential health care, waterborne and water-related diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera are common challenges. Such diseases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution and antibiotics, but in regions like Turkana, health centres are rare, and the few that exist lack basic supplies and qualified health staff.
Worldwide, around 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water sources and 2.4 billion have no basic sanitation. Waterborne diseases are a leading cause of preventable deaths around the world, and are among the five major causes of death in children under the age of five.
Health promotion
“My five daughters are consistently suffering from akirem (diarrhoea),” says Alice.
Alice and her children are one of many families who have received treatment for diarrhoeal diseases from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, IOM’s mobile medical rapid response teams go to hard-to-reach mobile communities in Turkana. Equipped with re-hydration sachets, chlorine water treatment tablets, de-worming tablets, and drugs for common medical conditions, the teams distribute much needed medication and conduct mass de-worming campaigns.
Small changes can have a big impact, which has been proven by health and hygiene promotion talks that IOM is also running. Sensitive to sustainability and cultural practices, IOM’s health promotion campaign complements local knowledge with indigenous solutions. For example, communities are encouraged to wash their hands with ash, a local disinfectant that is free and easily accessible. 55,000 vulnerable members of the community are being targeted by IOM’s outreach.
Photo: REUTERS
In 2009 and 2010, IOM dispatched four teams on similar missions to crisis-affected communities in Kenya’s Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza provinces that were struggling to prevent and fight against waterborne diseases. Over 492,000 people benefited.
According to Grace Khaguli, Field Coordinator for IOM’s emergency health project in Turkana: “Due to the scale of the drought, water is scarce. This makes Alice Napong and her daughters more inclined to drink dirty, unsafe water. What is happening to them is replicated in households across Turkana.”
Residents use contaminated water, and the area has very few toilets, which contributes to improper waste disposal.”
Senior Elder Echepan Ngelecha, a community leader in Nadapal Village, says: “In our culture, we divide illnesses into those caused by God and those caused by Ngidekesiney ka ekapilan (witchcraft). Thanks to IOM, we are now aware that we can do certain things to prevent illnesses. This partnership needs to continue because it takes time to change behaviour, like remembering to use ash when we wash our hands in order to prevent the spread of diseases.”
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Trading the stool for a stall: Migrant female sex workers in Majengo, Kenya
Today, I ventured out to Majengo, a heavily populated settlement zone on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. I met with two migrant female sex workers who have been part of a peer education programme for the past two years. They talk about the impact the programme has had on their lives.
*Rosemary Maliwa sells fruits for a living. One year ago, she worked as a female sex worker, earning less than one dollar a day. She shares her story with us…
At the break of dawn, *Rosemary Maliwa walks out of her house. She pushes the door gently, to keep from waking her three grandchildren who are coiled up on the floor of her one-bedroom tin house. With fruits tightly packed into a small bucket, she wades through burst sewage pipes, to a makeshift wooden structure by the side of a road.
25 years as a sex worker
This is Majengo. A densely populated neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. Tanzanians, Rwandese, Ugandans and Congolese weave through the crowd of Kenyans, dodging speeding cars that fill the air with clouds of dust.
“If you came door-to-door for one week, you would not have met all the female sex workers in Majengo,” Rosemary, a migrant from Tanzania, explains.
She came to Majengo 26 years ago.
“A friend who cared for me brought me here; she worked here too.”
Rosemary was a housewife, and she relied on her husband for upkeep. When he became abusive and started spending more nights away from home, she decided to leave with their three children.
How much money I made depended on how much risk I was willing to take
On a good day, Rosemary was able to see ten clients. But there were days when no clients came to her house.
“The calculation was simple: ‘Should I let my children go hungry, or should I take the risk of having unprotected sex?’ It was not a difficult decision – I had unprotected sex many times.”
Along the way, Rosemary contracted the HIV virus.
Trading the stool for the stall
In Majengo, a female sex worker sits on a small, wooden stool outside her house to symobolize that she is at work. When a client approaches her, she follows him into her house with the stool in hand.
“One day, I learned about a peer education programme that NOPE and IOM were running. I was told that they could help me start up a business. I had always wanted to quit sex work, but I was unable to get start-up income for a business from any bank - it is hard when your papers are not okay. I grabbed the opportunity when it came my way.”
One year ago, Rosemary traded the stool for a stall. She now trades in fruits. She supplements her income with money she makes off fabrics she sells.
"When our clients see us on these stools, they know we are at work." Photo/Mary-Sanyu Osire
*Victoria Kalume is a female sex worker. One year ago, she did not know that undocumented migrants also have rights. Today, she insists that everyone deserves to be respected. Find out why…
Illegally connected electricity lines hang dangerously low over *Victoria Kalume’s house.
“Come in, have a seat,” she motions with her hand.
She grabs a wrinkled handkerchief to wipe sweat off her forehead. A small radio in the corner is blaring. She breathes heavily.
Victoria just saw a client.
She is a migrant female sex worker, one of hundreds of Congolese who make a living in Majengo, a heavy populated settlement zone in Nairobi.
Treated like dogs
“Kenya has had three presidents since independence; and we were here before the first president, yet law enforcement officers used to treat us like dogs.”
Sex work is illegal in Kenya. Victoria’s situation is exacerbated by the fact that she is an undocumented migrant.
Change
IOM and NOPE have been running human rights sensitization classes for sex workers and law enforcement officers, in an effort to raise public awareness about the rights of vulnerable migrants, and to empower migrants to speak up for their rights.
“Things have slowly started to change. These days, if one of our clients refuses to pay, we are confident enough to report the case to police. This was unthinkable a few years ago,” Victoria says.
She digs into her handbag and retrieves scrap paper with a number scribbled on it.
“If I got arrested today, I would call these people. They would help me. One year ago, I did not know what services were available. Today, I know who to go to for what kind of assistance.”
* not real name
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Female sex work
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
*Rosemary Maliwa sells fruits for a living. One year ago, she worked as a female sex worker, earning less than one dollar a day. She shares her story with us…
At the break of dawn, *Rosemary Maliwa walks out of her house. She pushes the door gently, to keep from waking her three grandchildren who are coiled up on the floor of her one-bedroom tin house. With fruits tightly packed into a small bucket, she wades through burst sewage pipes, to a makeshift wooden structure by the side of a road.
25 years as a sex worker
This is Majengo. A densely populated neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. Tanzanians, Rwandese, Ugandans and Congolese weave through the crowd of Kenyans, dodging speeding cars that fill the air with clouds of dust.
“If you came door-to-door for one week, you would not have met all the female sex workers in Majengo,” Rosemary, a migrant from Tanzania, explains.
She came to Majengo 26 years ago.
“A friend who cared for me brought me here; she worked here too.”
Rosemary was a housewife, and she relied on her husband for upkeep. When he became abusive and started spending more nights away from home, she decided to leave with their three children.
How much money I made depended on how much risk I was willing to take
On a good day, Rosemary was able to see ten clients. But there were days when no clients came to her house.
“The calculation was simple: ‘Should I let my children go hungry, or should I take the risk of having unprotected sex?’ It was not a difficult decision – I had unprotected sex many times.”
Along the way, Rosemary contracted the HIV virus.
Trading the stool for the stall
In Majengo, a female sex worker sits on a small, wooden stool outside her house to symobolize that she is at work. When a client approaches her, she follows him into her house with the stool in hand.
“One day, I learned about a peer education programme that NOPE and IOM were running. I was told that they could help me start up a business. I had always wanted to quit sex work, but I was unable to get start-up income for a business from any bank - it is hard when your papers are not okay. I grabbed the opportunity when it came my way.”
One year ago, Rosemary traded the stool for a stall. She now trades in fruits. She supplements her income with money she makes off fabrics she sells.
*Victoria Kalume is a female sex worker. One year ago, she did not know that undocumented migrants also have rights. Today, she insists that everyone deserves to be respected. Find out why…
Illegally connected electricity lines hang dangerously low over *Victoria Kalume’s house.
“Come in, have a seat,” she motions with her hand.
She grabs a wrinkled handkerchief to wipe sweat off her forehead. A small radio in the corner is blaring. She breathes heavily.
Victoria just saw a client.
She is a migrant female sex worker, one of hundreds of Congolese who make a living in Majengo, a heavy populated settlement zone in Nairobi.
Treated like dogs
“Kenya has had three presidents since independence; and we were here before the first president, yet law enforcement officers used to treat us like dogs.”
Sex work is illegal in Kenya. Victoria’s situation is exacerbated by the fact that she is an undocumented migrant.
Change
IOM and NOPE have been running human rights sensitization classes for sex workers and law enforcement officers, in an effort to raise public awareness about the rights of vulnerable migrants, and to empower migrants to speak up for their rights.
“Things have slowly started to change. These days, if one of our clients refuses to pay, we are confident enough to report the case to police. This was unthinkable a few years ago,” Victoria says.
She digs into her handbag and retrieves scrap paper with a number scribbled on it.
“If I got arrested today, I would call these people. They would help me. One year ago, I did not know what services were available. Today, I know who to go to for what kind of assistance.”
* not real name
END//
Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Female sex work
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
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