Bridges on the road to life
Salima Pirani observes AMREF's groundbreaking work with commercial sex workers.
My name is Salima Pirani and I am the communications Manager at AMREF Canada. One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is that every year, I get to meet our communications staff from all over the world at a meeting somewhere in Africa. We get to connect, share our strengths, plan for ways to improve our work and visit proj
ects.
One of the most amazing projects I visited after the meeting was in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It was my second time there, and I was preparing for a visit by our Goodwill Ambassador, Measha Brueggergosman, and also planning the premier of the documentary War/Dance (if you haven’t seen it, please do – I’d be happy to send you a copy!). It was a hectic week, and so when Measha arrived, we spent a day visiting some projects in Kawempe – a slum area of Kampala. Because of the low socio economic state of this area and the lack of resources and education afforded to girls in Kawempe other parts of the country, a good number become desperate for work. Without skills or training, they often turn to prostitution in order to feed themselves and their families. It’s a terrible place to find yourself in.
It turns out that AMREF Uganda is actively looking to provide alternatives to these women. You might wonder, what is an African health organization doing, by helping prostitutes?
A whole lot, in fact.
AMREF’s Commercial Sex Worker Project targets young women who are at highest risk for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. By helping these young women, the project is curbing the spread of disease among them, among their clients and among their children.
But how does it work, you ask?
The project offers a bridge in women’s lives by providing much-sought after skills and job trainin
g. Women who come to the project office are counseled, educated in prevention of disease and then given a choice: become a tailor or a hair dresser. Seriously!
Then the fun part: the women get to take classes for 6 months and when they successfully complete this education, they are given a small loan to start up their business. With the loan they buy supplies like hair dryers or sewing machines and are able to make a life for themselves without the immense physical and emotional risks.
Measha and I were pretty impressed, especially when two of the women in the tailoring group announced that we would be their first customers! But it gets better: they decided they would make us “Christmas dresses”! In their tradition, women get a new dress at Christmas – and it is always a fancy dress. We were very excited and got our measurements taken right there on the spot. We’ve sent over some fabric we found in a market in the north and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our fancy dresses.
For us, it was a very illuminating day. We got to meet not only the amazing staff behind the amazing projects, but also these courageous women who are on their road to better health.
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