A man alights at Majengo from the matatu bus stop. Everyone stares
at him; they know he has come here for sex. He manoeuvres around
fragile tin houses, dodges the sewage, and walks to where "the
women on stools sit". He sees a woman on her stool, walks into her
home, and ten minutes later they exchange money. He leaves; she
takes a soda, and awaits her next client. That is how life is here.

Imelda Angelo should know. At the age of 43, she has spent the
last 20 years as a sex worker in Majengo, a heavily populated
Tanzanian settlement in Nairobi.

"In Majengo, men know they can get cheap sex. Some girls get a
flat rate of 100 KES ($1), but I have worked for 50 KES," says
Imelda. "We have a mixture of clients, but the business men from
other countries are always the good ones. Lots of our clients do
not work; young people around here have nothing to do, no job, no
education. They just sit around during the day, or wash cars for a
few bob, and then mug people at night. Those clients have
threatened me with a knife, or just abuse me until I have sex with
them for free."

Following her mother's death, Imelda travelled from Bukoga in
Tanzania to look after her younger siblings in Nairobi, Kenya.
Arriving in Majengo, Imelda had no money to support her family. Her
Tanzanian friends told her the only option was sex work, and at the
age of 23, Imelda found herself with her first client.

"Men who have HIV don't care about protection," says Imelda.
"The men will pierce a condom without you knowing, I don't know why
they do it. Maybe it feels better? I was young and didn't know that
men were doing this. Men would also pay you more money if you
didn't wear a condom. When I was pregnant with my third child, I
found out my status. I was HIV positive. A year later, in 2003, I
went on ARVs (anti-retroviral treatment for HIV)."

Imelda's husband died from AIDS two years ago: "He was in denial
and refused to accept that he was HIV positive. He did not want
help, or ARVs. I think that is why he died. We need intensive
counselling here in Majengo, we need free condoms, and we need
money so we don't have to sit on the stools anymore. Here we must
have the highest number of sex workers living positively in
Nairobi. It could be as high as 500."

Imelda travels to neighbouring Eastleigh, another urban migrant
settlement in Nairobi, to access services by UMA CBO, a
community-based organization supported by the International
Organization for Migration. Imelda is one of 1,275 female sex
workers enrolled in a pilot urban female sex worker programme where
she can now access health education, HIV counselling and testing,
free sexually transmitted infection screening, and English
lessons.

"The programme has given me hope," says Imelda during her
English class. "It has helped me to accept my HIV status, and given
me the chance to learn English. Most businesses are in English, so
only understanding Swahili reduces my chance of getting proper
work."

With ongoing support from the pilot programme, Imelda has
started her own vegetable stall: "Now my children don't come home
from school and ask why I am sat on a stool anymore. I just wish
these services were available in my community so all the other sex
workers I know in Majengo can access them easily."

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Top: Imelda now accepts her status and lives positively. Bottom
left: Imelda sells vegetables at her stall in Majenga. Bottom
right: Imelda sat on a stool offering sex work for 20 years. ©
IOM (Photo by: Celeste Hibbert)