“I see myself as air, you can’t hold me down. I pass through cracks and still rise.”
My name is Anita. I am 19 years old, and I have two children. Two years ago, I ran away from home to escape chaos and hardship. I landed in the slums of Matisi, life was hard but at the time softer than home, until I became pregnant. As fate would have it, I returned to my mother's house, where I delivered my son.
I started a small business selling chips by the roadside and started making some money. A couple of months later, a friend introduced me to her brother, who was looking for a wife. I packed my bags and moved to mombasa to meet and be with the love of my life. We lived well until I became pregnant, when he became unrecognizable. He would beat me. Once, he nearly killed me and our child. He brought other women into the house, turning my love into shame.
I knew that home was harder, especially with my ailing grandmother who was living with my siblings; I did not want to be a burden. I also heavily depended on him and felt that I could not leave. Before I delivered my second child, he sent me to his rural homestead, to a house with no warmth. Not knowing what to expect, I went there. I had to adopt his son and raise all these children by myself. I had never imagined life being this hard; the shops were far, and he would send 30 shillings in the evening for a day's meal for all of us. He never even met his daughter, and stopped picking up my calls. Eventually, I came home.
Now I am here, I want to focus on my children and also help my family where I can. If I once started a business and was doing well, I believe that I can do it again. With the support of kshs 5000, I will be back on my feet.
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