In Soroti city center is a very known corridor – ‘Town Talks’. Renowned for its sex work business, Town Talks is where a 19-year-old S.6 student, whose ambitions are to become a lawyer stages to get money for school fees, writes Joseph Ebayu.
This girl resorted to this very risky business because she wanted to continue with her studies after her mother bandoned her.
For this interview, Ebayu quotes her as requesting to be named Rehema for avoidance of letting her fellow friends at school know about it.
Rehema recalls that some five years ago, her mother chased her away from their home in Mbale. She was picked by a good Samaritan who took her to Soroti town to serve as her house girl in exchange for food and shelter.
Rehemah tried to talk to her forster mother about her studies but the single mother was not ready to help beyond food and shelter.
“Because I still wanted to meet my dream of becoming a lawyer, I asked her to allow me go to school. I lied to her that I have an uncle who was ready to pay my school fees. But the fact is I once in two weeks go to Town Talk and sleep with men to get school fees,” Narrates Rehema who does not her father.
The ambitious Rehema says is ready to abandon the ‘bad’ and illegal activity should anyone come to her rescue.
“I need to be helped. If anyone can pay for my studies, I would abandon sleeping with drunk and rough men who pay me only Shs 5,000.,” she said.
The girl who pays Shs 150,000 per term does prosititution at least once a fortnight.
“When I go to Town Talks, I target between 5 and 10 men ready to give me not less than Shs. 5000. The following day, I take to the school bursar all the proceeds,” says Rehemah adding that: I go to the corridor by 8:00pm and retire at around 2:00am.
The girl says does not like what she does but it is only the means by which she can live.
“I have tins of PEP and emergency pills in my room because sometimes condoms burst,” she says.
