Saturday

SURVIVING THE CLAWS OF THE URBAN CITY

Today i was delighted to met a new acquittance, D , she is from Tooro and she has come to stay with her cousin P a good friend of mine. D doesn't know any luganda-which is like the trading and predominant language in Kampala-and she knows enough English to get by. She is a pretty and innocent girl but on meeting her ma joy was soon diminished by thoughts of what would happen to her in 5 years and if she will survive the dangerous claws of Kampala city. Will she survive being a side dish, settling down just for survival, get an education and if she does follow through on it? What will happen to her and will P protect her or propel her into the scandals lives of many girls such as her who come from the village to the city in search of a dream and a better life.
I am a good listener although am a better talker but i have heard of stories of girls who came with so much hope for a better life in the city but are met by the harsh reality. I know of a hairdresser who came from the village to live with her her sister hoping for a better tomorrow but on arriving to kampala she discovered her sister was a prostitute and to stay with her she had to join the trade because as the sister said to her "this that you detest so much pays the bill and helps me survive so do it or go back to poverty". In her mind her sister was an authority on life in the city so she followed her until she was rescued by a good Samaritan who introduced her to the beauty business.
This is the fact of life for some but i prefer optimism so i will hope that D survives the claws of the city.

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