Norah Nyaboke 23 years old from a small village in Gucha had VVF/Bladder stones. She says that she was orphaned at early age when she was 6 years old, I was raised by my aunty and I never went to school and was forced to offer labour to make a living at that tender age by tilling people’s farms in the neighborhood.

When I reached 18 years another man from our village asked to marry me and I accepted, although he was older than me at 40 years then I accepted and we have three children together 2 boys and 1 girl. I enjoyed my marriage until I delivered my third child who brought about this problem. When I arrived home after delivery and my husband realized I was leaking urine, he abandoned us and left us with no help.

He left me saying “you are dirty and smelling …”, and he went ahead and married another woman who was a widow. With no one to turn too since I don’t even have siblings, I totally depended on well wishers to give us support. Its then that the village elders met and told my husband that he had to provide for us. All this made me so stressed and I lost a lot of weight. Am so happy to have gotten free treatment and I plan to start working again when I get better to be able to take care of my children. I was so surprised when my husband visited me at the hospital and he was glad to hear that I will be well again.

During the hospital stay Norah was always in deep thoughts and isolated herself from the other patients, she never finished her food and she said “I thought I was the only one with this problem, and I had no one to turn to I have no parents or siblings” one of the nurses said she had depression and Norah was linked to a counselor and will be followed after the camp.

Esther Kwamboka from Kisii 19 years of age narrates of how she became pregnant while still in school. I had gone to school as usual and I received a call from my boyfriend who requested me to escort him to the nearby centre we talk. When we reached the centre he asked me if I can go to their home then he would escort me back to school.

Everything changed when I arrived there “he locked me in his room for 2 weeks, everyone was looking for me…”. My parents, teachers and fellow students started looking for me and could not find me since my boyfriend had switched of my phone. When I realized I was pregnant I didn’t see the need to go back home I knew my parents were annoyed with me, “I choose to stay with him, since I was already pregnant”.

One day as I went to the market one of the students spotted me and went and told my parents, its then that they located where I was and our parents had a meeting and they decided to leave me “my mum was very disappointed with me” says Esther. When time came for me to deliver I went to hospital and I had a baby girl who is now 3 years old.

When I came back home my husband started mistreating me when I was told to abstain for 3 months, and I also realized I was leaking urine especially when we had sexual intercourse, its then that he started avoiding me and having affairs. He told me he didn’t have money to treat me. I decided to stay thinking he would change his mind, but its then that he started having affairs with other girls and we started arguments. He bet me a couple of times and I ran away to my parents home, he followed me there and apologized to my parents and said it will never happen again so we went back home together. After 2 months the problems started again and I ran again to my parent’s home with my daughter.

He never came again to look for me or my child and I decided that I will never go back to him again. I plan to go back to school and finish my education and have a formal course in hope of getting a better job and I raise my child.