How Rose blossomed from FSW, thanks to the KP program in Nyamira

When 40 year old Rose Nyanchama left her matrimonial home to venture into the hustle and bustle of
Nyamira town, it was for the good of her three children. To her, what she did for a living did not matter,
what did was that her children got the basic needs. After all, to her, the end justified the means.
In 2007, with a failed marriage and three mouths to feed, educate and shelter, Rose started off doing
odd jobs like washing for people but it was not enough to sustain herself and children. Then she made
the decision to get into the oldest trade in the world, where the money she badly needed was, Female
Sex Work.
“Business was good and I was fetching handsome money on a daily basis that at least made my life and
that of my children bearable” She said. But, there was always some danger lurking. Female Sex Work is a
risky trade. There is the danger of infections, gender based violence from the very clients a woman
entertained and frequent harassment from law enforcers.
When in 2013 Impact Research and Development Organization (IRDO) reached out to Rose and her
peers with interventions targeting Female Sex Workers in Nyamira, Rose joined the program and to
date, she has never regretted.
IRDO recruited Rose as a Peer Educator where her role was to reach out to fellow FSWs educating them
on safe sex, condom use, how to protect themselves and matters about HIV infection and prevention as
they go about their trade. In 2014, Rose was initiated into Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) which she
uses to date.
Rose has since become a fully trained TOT on matters peer education. She is also a trained paralegal
helping her peers with Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases and basic human rights. Apart from that, she
has acquired new knowledge on financial literacy covering ideas like table banking, all courtesy of IRDO.
“My life has changed considerably. I am now financially stable and an empowered woman.” She said.
“As a matter of fact, with my paralegal knowledge, I managed to get my estranged husband to take up
his responsibilities as a father!” she added.
Daniel Nandwa coordinates the Global Fund Key Populations programs in Kisii, Nyamira and Vihiga
Counties. He said that the program which engages Female Sex Workers (FSWs) and Men having Sex with
Men (MSMs) has three main interventions covering areas of biomedical, behavioral change and
structural interventions.
Nandwa said that apart from Rose, the program has a cohort of up to 2123 FSWs and 425 MSMs spread
across the three Kisii Sub Counties of Bonchari, Kitutu Chache South and Kitutu Chache North.
When the program kicked off activities, there was some level of resistance and stigma against the FSWs
and MSMs due to the very high conservative nature of the Abagusi Community. In fact, Nandwa says,
“So bad was the stigma that at one point all FSWs were rounded up, hounded in trucks and taken to
health facilities to be forcefully tested for HIV!” This was instigated by the County Government
ostensibly to prevent the FSWs from spreading HIV.

In the wake of such discrimination and stigmatization, there was an urgent need to address such
concerns. “We formed what is called a Community Advisory Board (CAB) composed of representatives
from the Law enforcement officers, the clergy, County askaris, bar owners and even vigilantes like the
sungu sungu. Others are boda boda riders, taxi services and IRDO staff” He said.
Other than the CAB, a County Key Populations Technical Working Group (TWG) was set up to oversee
some of the concerns at that level.
According to Wycliffe Odero, the PrEP lead in Kisii, when the tablets were introduced in 2017 amid
concerns that that there was a need to offer protection to the many female sex workers and even men
having sex with men in the area. “Initially, we ran into headwinds when we tried to recruit and enroll on
PrEP and retention became a challenge” He said.
Two years later, the figures are very impressive. There is over 90% retention on PrEP with more than
40% of the sex workers actively on PrEP. Some of the strategies employed to turn around the figures
included coming up with a PrEP Club, staff motivation, the use of IEC materials and conducting radio talk
shows to sensitize stakeholders.
The success of the PrEP uptake among the Key Populations in Kisii is attributed to the thriving sex trade
in the area. With over 135 hotspots, Kisii is one of the leading towns in sex work. So what could be the
fuel?
“Tea bonuses and a very robust economy in Kisii makes it very lucrative for sex work” Says Daniel
Nandwa.
So good is business in Kisii that none other than the Central Bank of Kenya is setting base there. The
town is a business bustle with all manner of goods and services on offer. Then there is the regular
payment of tea bonuses paid to farmers. The joke in the town is that most of these farmers and
property owners carry around their moneys in cash.
The Red Cross funded program started in 2013 and will run up to June 2021.
Emmy Silai, the Red Cross KP Technical Officer in charge of the West Kenya Region said that the work
done by IRDO since inception is commendable hence the move to expand to Nyamira and Vihiga
Counties.
“The RDQA just carried out has shown us that all the clients that IRDO reached in the last quarter
actually got the services needed. That is a good thing in terms of data operations.” She said