A safe Haven for Kamoli

Kamoli lived well with her mother, a small-scale farmer. Unfortunately in 2021, her income was not enough to sustain the family and Kamoli had no choice but to drop out of school. Life became unbearable prompting Kamoli’s mother to resort to look for work for her as a way to complement the family's income. On that day, she arranged for Kamoli to travel to her new workplace in Mwanza, not knowing how her fate would change for the worse.

Her mother met with the mother of her soon-to-be employer who organised for the transport to Mwanza. Upon reaching her employer´s house, she was welcomed with open arms. She showered, ate and went to sleep comfortably. The next morning, she started working around the house; cooking, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and babysitting her employer’s two young boys.

As the days went by, life became really tough for Kamoli at the hands of her new employer. Any time she woke up late, she would receive a thorough beating. Other times, her employer would wake up with bad moods, quarrel and hurl insults at Kamoli. More often than not, she would beat Kamoli severely and did not pay her at all the work she did. She was never given a phone to contact her mother directly and she was also warned against interacting with neighbours or playing with other children. This went on for more than six months and Kamoli could not take it anymore

On one early morning, Kamoli finally got the courage to ask her boss for her salary. She completely refused to pay her and instead decided to send Kamoli back home. She gave her 18.9 Euros and took her to a bus conductor. She slept at the passengers´ waiting building but with the help of a good samaritan she boarded a public service vehicle that took her to the port and she boarded a ferry back home. While enroute, she interacted with one passenger who advised her to report her case to the police so that she can get her wages.

Upon arriving at Ukerewe island, Kamoli reported herself to the nearest police station where she explained her exploitative situation to the police man on duty.  “I was overworked, with a promise of a  low payment which I never received and my employer was abusing me physically and psychologically.¨  She explained.

Her legal case was opened and investigations launched against her employer. The police gender and children desk linked Kamoli with the Ukerewe district social welfare officer who registered and admitted the girl to the KIWOHEDE shelter.