Rumbi, a young woman of 20 years from Chisumbanje in Chipinge lived a miserable life. After completing her Advanced Level education with 8 points in 2018, she thought she was going to proceed to university, graduate with a Business Management degree and take care of her mother and siblings. Her mother struggled to make ends meet, one day she confirmed her worst fears –there was no money to pay her university fees!
“My dreams were shuttered; I thought after successfully completing A’level my life would change for the better. I watched in pain as my former classmates enrolled for tertiary education. My options were limited and I decided to join sex work to help my mother pay school fees for my 3 siblings.”
Life as a sex worker was not easy for Rumbi. She usually engaged in risky behaviour which exposed her to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Most of the time, she suffered Gender Based Violence (GBV) as older men forced her to have unprotected sex, some wanted her services for free. One day, as she was roaming the streets of Chipinge, she met her former teacher who was moved by her situation. “I could see the pain in her eyes as I narrated my story to her and she said the only way she could assist was to introduce me to the DREAMS project. I did not understand what she was talking about, what dreams when my life was such a messy?”
The following week Rumbi joined the DREAMS project, she was surprised to meet other young women who were in her situation. She was introduced to the FHI 360 DREAMS Social Asset Building Club which empowered her with knowledge on entrepreneurship, GBV, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) as well as HIV Treatment Services (HTS) and Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
Equipped with knowledge from the DREAMS project, Rumbi was again trained on Internal Savings and Lending and together with her peers; they formed a savings group called the Empowerment Savings Group. “This was the beginning of my journey to economic empowerment and self-reliance. Our savings group managed to ride through the harsh economic environment and the Covid-19 induced hardships through group-based projects.”
Rumbi was further trained on making detergents, floor polish and petroleum jelly. Her products are popular within her community as she is now a supplier of choice for households, shops, clinics and schools. “My business is booming, I am taking care of my family and I have started saving money to further my studies. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
As she walked the journey of success, Rumbi did not forget her peers in the community; she took every opportunity to sensitize them about the DREAMS project and her efforts did not go unnoticed. “I was selected as the DREAMS ambassador responsible for mentoring adolescent girls and young women in my community. I look forward to the future, my hope is renewed!”