Many sex workers have never had an education or worked in their lives, but have slipped into poverty prostitution straight out of school. For these women to become employable, two preconditions must be met.
Our pastoral care course not only serves to overcome trauma, but it is also meant to make the women feel again: I am a human being wanted by God, loved and endowed with an unutterable dignity.
Alongside the ethics course, we offer the women live skills training. Here, the women are given very practical advice to help them cope better with their lives.
For most people in the slums, financial hardship is a constant part of life. In order to cushion short-term emergencies, the Sisters for Hope organise a so-called “Tabelbanking” where the same group of sex workers meet 4 times a week to deposit money into a cash box.
Poverty prostitutes in a slum are usually not friends – but competitors. To break this toxic “relationship”, the Sisters for Hope hold a coffee and tea afternoon twice a month. Everyone from the community is invited to this meeting to talk, relate and share problems and common experiences.
Since many sex workers have never earned money legally in their lives, they often do not know what social benefits are available in Kenya, e.g. in the area of health and pension insurance.
