Today I met Mary Zema, founder of
Sanyuka Women At Risk. A quiet, humble lady, she is also a force to be reckoned
with when it comes to standing up for the ladies that she supports.
Mary started Sanyuka in 2007,
after feeling called to do something to help the many ladies who are caught up
in the cycle of prostitution. This is the description of Sanyuka in her words:
Sanyuka
Women At Risk (SWAR) exists to help women living in prostitution and their
children towards a life of self sufficiency and a healthier lifestyle.
Our current activities include night visits, art therapy, structured
counseling, home visits, skills development, church mobilization,
entrepreneurship, capacity building, women fellowships, literacy education,
children holiday program, school visits.
Sanyuka
Women At Risk (SWAR) is situated in Mbikko, a semi urban township just outside
of Jinja, a town about 80 km from Kampala, Uganda. Mbikko is one of the
main stopovers in Uganda for long distant drivers who come with a lot of money
with the aim of spending it on alcohol and women. It has also become well
known as a place for drugs, alcohol and most especially prostitution.
Every year, many young women and girls come to Jinja and Mbikko with the aim of
making money for themselves in an honest way. Unfortunately due to the
lack of opportunities in the area, many women are unable to earn enough money
to support themselves, and as a result they fall into the trap of prostitution.
Their vulnerability to falling into prostitution is heightened by the high
number of bars and loose morals in the region – and as this is one of the few
ways women can earn a living they find themselves being forced, coerced and
deceived into prostitution.
Mary,
and her small team of incredibly dedicated staff, run a rehabilitation home for
a group of ladies who have shown over a number of months that they are
dedicated to getting off the streets and starting a new and better life. The
project takes 10 ladies at a time, and their children, and the programme that
they undertake is a year in length, to give time for them to completely leave
behind their old habits and get discipleship, counseling, skills training etc
for the future.
Today,
when we visited the project, we heard testimonies from the ladies, about how
they have journeyed from a place of darkness and hopelessness, to a place of
light and hope. How they have moved from hating themselves and all that their
life represented, to experiencing love and in turn being able to show love to
their children. How they have moved from anger and bitterness against those who
wronged them in the past, to a place of forgiveness and reconciliation with
family members.
One
of the ladies had a child called Miracle, and she told us of the story of his
birth, and what a miracle it was that he was born at all due to all the
obstacles that loomed in her way – health and financial – at the time of his
birth. As she told us the story there were tears of joy in the eyes of many,
and I was prompted to remind them that each of them has a story that is
miraculous in its own way, that each of the ladies is in their own way a
miracle.
The
needs are great in this project, like so many other projects out there. Whilst
there is funding for the one year programme for the ladies, there isn’t money
to continue to cover the cost of the education fees for the children. It only
costs £30 / term per child, but for ladies who are starting out in a new job
even that is a lot.
And
there are professional needs – further counseling training for the staff, play
therapy for the children’s worker. And a vehicle so they can get out to do the
home visits more easily. And land so SWAR can build their own place and take in
more ladies, and not have to turn so many women away…. Many needs, much prayer,
and in the meantime they keep forging ahead, doing what they can, with the
resources that they have.
Once
the ladies are out of the programme and having to make their way in the world,
it could be easy for them to slip back into the money making profession of
prostitution, if their new plans for work don’t succeed. But I pray, as do the
ladies and the SWAR staff, that the determination that each of the ladies
showed today in their testimonies, and that they have shown in getting this far
through the programme will carry them through the tough times and out the other
side.
Mary
Zema oozes love, compassion, selflessness, generosity and a determination to
see the best done for each of the ladies who comes into her programme. May she
be rewarded for her ongoing efforts, by seeing great provision, for the Sanyuka
Women At Risk project, and for the ladies and their children as they forge
forwards into their brave new worlds.
PS - if any one out there feels inspired to support one of the children at £10/ month, just let me know.
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| The current group of ladies on the programme |
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| Mary Zema is the lady in pink standing at the back |
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