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KENYA: Maureen Kiwinda, "It was not my desire to sleep with people to get a job"
Source: IRIN
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NAIROBI, 9 December 2008 (IRIN) - Ruth Simiyu, 22, came to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in 2003 to stay with her brother, a
casual employee in the industrial area. She has also taken up casual employment, but told IRIN/PlusNews that handing out sexual favours was a regular requirement for getting work. "I could not
proceed with my education due to lack of school fees, so I came here and stayed with my brother for two years, but I left because he was not happy that I became pregnant. "I later went to stay
with a friend and started doing laundry work for people ... but whatever I was getting from my work was too little to take care of my child. Also, I could not work most of the time because he was
still too small and needed my constant attention. "A friend of mine used to work at the EPZ [export processing zone - an industrial area established by the government in 1990 to boost Kenya's
export capacity]. I went there with her several times but I could not get a job. "When I was almost giving up, she told me the truth and advised me to talk to one of the supervisors. She told me
it would be difficult for me to get a job without giving something small, which I thought was money, but I later learnt the small thing was my body. "At first I found it hard to comprehend, but I
weighed living without knowing what tomorrow brings and having sex to get a job and I decided to give it a try. "I have been doing it and I have been getting jobs frequently [but] I have paid the
price, because now I am HIV-positive. "The problem here is that you cannot stick to one partner. Even if you decide to get a job through sex, these supervisors are changed almost on a monthly
basis, so you know you have to please each of them to survive. "At times I feel guilty about what I am doing, knowing that I am HIV-positive, but I cannot tell my colleagues or even those who
solicit for sex from me. I need food and I need money - what do I do? "God knows it was not my desire to lead a life of sleeping with people to get a job. At times I feel sorry for myself and my
friends, but that is the society we live in." ko/kr/he© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org
