In the hustle and bustle of Kampala, you will find a small overpopulated township called Nakulabye, and that’s where I hail from. Born and bred. My name is Agatha. I am 21 years old and I am a single parent of two wonderful children, Hope (2 years old) and Brilliant (1-year-old).

As I became a young woman, I discovered dating and sex early and by the age of 19 I had my son. My mother helped me raise him, and two years later I had my daughter. This time round It was tough for me to expect my mom to help me as well as my children.

In 2020 at the outbreak of COVID-19 in Uganda, I lost my small job and couldn’t afford to take care of my children and my mother too who had turned vulnerable. We largely lacked food in the house and I couldn’t do anything about it. So, I made a choice. The worst choice of my life. I decided to turn to sex work. I thought I would only do it once, but when the money ran out and I was in the same situation again, I went back.  I got a boyfriend who promised to take care of me. I stayed with him for 6months while doing sex work secretly since he was not providing anything. He started acting rude and sometimes he could beat me and force me to have sex whenever he was drunk.  I hated myself since I couldn’t find a proper job. I started becoming aggressive, moody and angry. I did not like the person I had become. In August 2021, a friend told me about the AGYW program at Alliance of Women Advocating for change (AWAC). She knew it would be a great opportunity for me. In was enrolled onto the AGYW program and I was happy to turn away from the negative life I was living because I knew it was only a matter of time before it destroyed me.

I was so happy when I was called to join my fellow Youths for Stepping stone and hair dressing in the AGYW program. Since then, I have started focusing on my goal of establishing my own Saloon. AGYW program has given me a new lease on life, and being part of a project that focuses on changing the lives of young girls makes me feel so proud.