MUTARE - The economic bondage that bedevilled Zimbabwe over the past decade negatively impacted on the lives of many ordinary people. For Royce Chapanduka, 42, commercial sex work was the only solution to easing her financial woes. At one time she had five clients per night and sometimes without any protection, exposing herself to health risks and the spread of disease. Chapandukas story about her journey until she was rescued by the British Embassy through its implementing partner Self Help Development Project (SHDF), is both moving and inspiring. The project has injected a new lease of life into many women like Chapanduka who were once regarded as “outcasts” by their societies.
“My life is back on tracks after the British Embassy and SHDF came to our rescue. We really appreciate them taking on board our problems after years of marginalisation and discrimination by the society.
“I did not join this profession by choice, but I was forced to get into the profession by circumstances beyond my control. I was once married with four children and did not know that one day my life would turn upside down and I would end up ‘peddling flesh’ to eke a living,” she said.
Promiscuous husbands
Chapanduka explained how she languished in abject poverty after she divorced her promiscuous husband who was a soldier in 1990. She said she used to live a decent life with her husband in Harare, but problems started when her husband began bringing prostitutes into their matrimonial home.
“I could not stomach it so we divorced in 1990 and I came back to Mutare to look for employment so that I could fend for my children. I send my children to rural areas and joined other four local ladies and ventured into prostitution,” Chapanduka narrated.
“I started sleeping around with a lot of men as a way of raising income to fend for my family and comforting myself from the abuse I suffered at the hands of my husband,” Chapanduka said.
She said they stayed in one room with her friends and would take turns to sleep with their clients, adding that they usually operated in public beer halls and public places at night.
“We used to dress indecently exposing our flesh to attract customers in beer halls and on average I used to sleep with five men, but still the cash was not enough to sustain my needs,” she said.
She narrated an incident she said she would never forget when she was a commercial sex worker and was attacked by a knife-bearing client.
“The society shunned me and my relatives hated me and I ended up getting solace from abusing alcohol,” she explained, adding that she exposed herself to HIV and AIDS by sleeping with many men without using protection.
“After 10 years of being a prostitute, life has changed for me after I was approached by a friend who advised me to quit prostitution and join Mutare Single Women’s Association. I went through counselling from peer educators.
Later, I was trained as a peer educator and I am working to transform those still into prostitution to have a better life as I believe God can change our lives for the better,” Chapanduka said.
Helping fellow prostitutes
She said she was not proud of her past, but felt at ease narrating it to the world as this could help to transform lives of thousands of prostitutes in the streets.
Other former commercial sex workers in the same organization said they ventured into prostitution to raise income to fend for their families after they were dumped or divorced by their husbands who were family breadwinners.
“I did not like prostitution, but my husband went to South Africa to look for employment and never came back so I was left to look after four children. I was not employed then and my husband was the sole breadwinner so I had no choice,” said another ex-sex worker who preferred to be called Martha.
She added that it is not easy to be a prostitute. “Sometimes you are subjected to ill treatment by some hostile men. It’s like taking a risk because you may die of AIDS or you may killed by some intimidating men,” she said.
Martha thanked the British Embassy and its partners for coming to their rescue.
British Embassy provided money to start income generating projects and SHDF is an implementing partner who teaches members basics in micro finance and savings.
Self Help Development Foundation Executive Director, Wadzanai Vere said: “The British Embassy provided money to start income generating projects. Our objective is put in place for these groups’ sustainable income generating projects that can reduce poverty at household levels.
It starts with the mind
“We will also provide the socio-psychological support to the affiliated members of the association because we believe empowerment starts with mind. If members of the association build confidence in themselves they can be a powerful tool in fighting HIV as well as eradicating poverty at household level,” said Vere in an interview.
The Mutare Single Women Association (MSWA) has a success story to tell to the world that commercial sex work is not the only solution of survival.
Acting Director of Mutare city council Health Services, Simon Mashababe said the association was formed in 1991, but faltered due to lack of finance.
Mashababe said since the introduction of the association, it had managed to work towards the reduction of STI and HIV prevalence in Mutare.
“We recorded over 2000 cases of STI’s, which were treated in council clinics on a monthly basis. According to a survey conducted in 2007 indicated that less than 200 cases were being attended to at that period,” he said.
From the British funding, the ex-sex workers have ventured into poultry farming, garment and candle making.
Post published in: News