Скачать или смотреть I trusted a man, but he took advantage of me | I had no choice but to return to the streets

Vivian Mukabi shares her life story, from childhood to the present.

Growing up, life was extremely difficult. Vivian never had the chance to attend school. Every time her mother became pregnant, her father would abandon the family—only returning after the child was born.

One day, her father was involved in a serious accident. After being discharged from the hospital, he became overwhelmed by the hardships at home and tragically took his own life. After his burial in the village, Vivian and her mother returned to Nairobi, but life only worsened. Her mother began to mistreat her severely.

She started bringing different men into their home, and at times, she would even chase Vivian out to accommodate them. Vivian began hustling to feed herself and her younger sibling.

The abuse escalated. Her mother would ask Vivian to entertain the men she brought home in exchange for money. When Vivian refused, her mother cruelly told her to follow her father to the grave. Vivian was only 13 years old. She pleaded with her mother, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

Unable to endure the pain any longer, Vivian left home. She began scavenging at a dumpsite, surviving on discarded food from airplanes.

Eventually, she met a man and moved in with him. At 15, she became pregnant with her first child, and at 16, she had her second. She hoped life would improve—but it didn’t. The man became abusive.

Vivian and her children ended up on the streets, begging for food. Life was harsh, and she faced verbal abuse from strangers. They lived without shelter.

One day, a kind stranger offered them a place to stay. But after some time, the woman said she was tired of supporting them. Vivian returned to the streets, doing whatever she could to survive—sometimes selling sweets, sometimes selling her body—just to feed her children.