WUNRN
March 2008 (IRIN)
KENYA:
TESTIMONIAL OF A WOMAN'S TRAUMA
DURING POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
|
Teresia Wamwitha |
Thika,
Kenya - For four weeks, Teresia Wamwitha, 47, took refuge in the bush with
10 children - eight of her own and two of her sister’s, who died 10 years ago -
after fleeing post-election violence in Kenya's Rift Valley Province.
Her house in Burnt Forest area was razed to the ground; she barely managed to
get the children out on the night of 29 December when violence broke out in
parts of the country. Having been shunned by another sister due to her
HIV-positive status, Wamwitha is now renting a room for KSh300 (US$4) a month
in Juja town in Central Province. IRIN spoke to Wamwitha on 14 March in Thika,
where she had gone to the Kenya Red Cross Society offices for aid:
"After being in the bush for weeks, we managed to board a lorry out of
Burnt Forest. It was headed towards Nairobi. We had nothing; life for the
children, especially, had become very hard. We fled our home with only the
clothes we had on. When we got to Kianduthu [in Limuru area] we were directed
to the Red Cross who provided us with clothes, blankets and food.
"Later, I left Kianduthu to seek the help of my sister who lives in
Kiambu. However, she rejected me because I am HIV-positive. I have lived with
the virus for 20 years now and I didn't expect my sister to reject me. My other
sister, who left me her two children, also died of HIV/AIDS. What is worse is
that I have a physically disabled child and one of my sister's has a mental
disability. I recently learnt that my eldest child, who is disabled, also has
HIV, although she was not born with the virus.
"From Kiambu, I then headed to Thika [town] where other displaced people
were camping at the stadium. Life at the stadium was not easy; I needed to find
a school for the children and a special school for my sister's child. I decided
to rent a house at Juja [near Thika] and I pay the rent by doing odd jobs like
washing clothes and any other task I'm asked to do. For instance, yesterday I
washed a huge pile of clothes and was paid Ksh50 [$0.70] for it, I will buy
vegetables with the money because I must eat well as I am taking ARV
medication. I swallow up to 30 tablets a day.
"Recently, my sister's eldest daughter came to Thika to look for me; she
offered to take me in, together with the children. I was so relieved. She
returned to Kiambu with the children and they started school on 10 March. Now I
am trying to get a reference letter from the district hospital here and the
Kenya Network of Women living with HIV, which I will use to continue ARV
treatment. I also came here to get some relief items from the Kenya Red Cross;
the staff here have been very good to me.
"Although the last two months have been hell for me, I cannot see myself
going back to Burnt Forest where I had 10 acres of land. All I want now is to
find some work and raise some money to enable me to start a small business. I
want to continue taking care of these children; they are all I have left after
my husband committed suicide four years ago.
"After living with the HIV virus for 20 years, I think I can survive long
enough to see the children grow; the ARVs help me a lot but I need to find work
in order to eat well. I am rather weak today because I have taken the ARV drugs
yet I haven't had anything to eat."
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