Support street-connected girls & women in Tanzania

Jackie* is 20 years old, and her child is nearly four.

Cheka Sana’s team met her on the streets of Mwanza, Tanzania, in November 2021, during night outreach sessions; at the time she was working as a sex worker. It took a long time for Jackie to trust the Cheka Sana staff, but after getting to know them over a period of time, she agreed to join the StreetBorn programme. Her case manager from Cheka Sana visited her weekly, to spend time with her and run one-to-one sessions. Jackie shared that she had lost all hope of living. She didn't care about her life or her health, and her only priority was to do anything to earn an income to survive. 

After some time, Jackie shared her story with her case worker: Her mother died when she was very young, and she was brought up by her grandmother. Jackie completed her primary education in 2016, but they struggled to make ends meet, and due to family poverty she didn’t get the chance to join secondary school. Jackie started looking for work, but struggled to find anything; she ended up in commercial sex work. In 2019, she got pregnant, and the father refused to accept the pregnancy. Her grandmother also chased her out of the house; she had nowhere to go. Jackie ended up on the streets of Mwanza. Against the odds, she managed to give birth to a healthy baby boy, who she lived with on the streets.

After gaining trust in her Cheka Sana case worker and spending time in one-to-one sessions with her, Jackie joined the various sessions on offer through the StreetBorn programme. She came to self-defence classes, sexual health education sessions, life skills sessions, and received business training. 

During their months of working together, her case worker also helped to mediate and rebuild a healthy relationship between Jackie and her co-parent, and after some time he started providing vital child support. This relationship of trust strengthened as the father and his family provided more care for their child, and enabled Jackie to pursue her own dreams and attend a college for more training. In April 2022, she joined a college through a local Women’s Empowerment Centre where she specialised in cookery and decoration. Cheka Sana shares that Jackie is thriving in her course, and is set to graduate in November. 

The role played by individual frontline workers, like Jackie's case worker, is crucial in the lives of girls on the streets as they journey towards a future they want. “Now I know that I am special, and after my graduation, my life will shine,” reflected Jackie. She shared that her case worker helped her to see life from a different perspective. “I pray that through Cheka Sana other girls will also see the meaning of their life again”. 

*name changed.