Malindi, Kenya, sits on the Indian Ocean coast, hugged by pristine beaches and a history that is charming and rich in diversity. The town of more than 100,000 residents is popularly known as “Little Milano,” thanks to booming tourism and the Italians who never left. Here you are guaranteed to find the best pasta in the country.
In this same town, however, you will find some of the most invisible women in Kenya. In Malindi is where Halima, for one, started using heroin. “There is something about this place,” she says. “It’s a curse.” Halima wants to stop. On the morning we spoke, Halima had spent more than two thousand shillings ($20) to relieve her withdrawal symptoms. Now she was looking for a mere 20 shillings to fend for food for her empty stomach.
Halima is not alone. In recent months, my colleagues and I have regularly met with ten women who use drugs in Malindi. Our interviews were conducted in order to gather information on how to improve access to services specifically aimed at women drug users, including health, legal and social assistance—all services to which we as Kenyans are entitled. These conversations have yielded a close look into the world these women live in, and it is imperative to share their stories.
Four of the ten women we spoke with never anticipated they’d end up using heroin—they’d started off using marijuana but at some point it was not just marijuana, it had been intentionally laced with heroin either by a male friend or a dealer. Then they suffered withdrawal, leading them to use again. Others started using heroin, not knowing the side effects. Unfortunately, the law—and society—does not distinguish.
Drug criminalization and drug-related crime means Kenya’s prisons are filled with people who use drugs, and the majority of the women we spoke to who had spent time in prison spoke of having access to drugs in prison. Police extortion is rampant, while legal representation is in short supply if not nonexistent. In many cases, police even advise defendants to plead guilty to cases of needle possession, something not even illegal. “The police are out to facilitate life sentences to drug users,” one woman, Amina, told us.
There is also the issue of being locked out of a national identity. Kenya, for instance, did not recognize mother-to-child transfer of citizenship until our new constitution in 2010. Another of our interviewees, Njeri, moved to Kenya from Tanzania and has lived in Malindi for more than a decade yet still has no identification papers. Her child was born here but is not recognized as Kenyan because the father is not present. As both mother and child are stateless, Njeri’s child might not be able to sit for national high school entrance exams, leaving her future in peril as well.
Good medical care is likewise hard to find. Women who use drugs are often in the hands of health care providers who do not understand the complexity of addiction. Where other patients receive care, they receive judgment and scrutiny. As a result, many of them only go to the hospital as a last resort, even in child birth. Consider the harrowing story one woman, Monica, told us:
I pushed so hard I thought I was going to die. Nothing was coming out. I explained to the doctor that there was no way I was going to be able to deliver without getting a fix. I called my boyfriend, went downstairs and he gave me a shot. Right there I felt as if the baby was leaking out of me. I rushed back upstairs and gave birth.
All of the women we spoke report knowing about safe practices: using a condom to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, sharing needles is dangerous. They also know they can get condoms, HIV testing and counseling at the local NGO Omari Project. Still, for sex workers, some clients will pay more for sex without a condom. And more than 25 percent of drug users on the coast of Kenya report sharing needles. An anecdote we heard from one user, Betty, is not unfamiliar:
I now live in Majengo with my boyfriend. He is also a user. We sleep together with no protection. He does not know that I am a sex worker. I have never gotten pregnant and I don’t use any family planning.
People who inject drugs do so in the shadows of shame because of the stigma and legal repercussions—a dilemma that these conversations show to lead more towards retaliation than it does maintenance or rehabilitation. Consequently, our mothers, our sisters and daughters have been left in the fringes of an already marginalized population. And we must acknowledge that our own neighbors are sometimes the most brutal police.
Consider again the words of Betty:
This is not a life of choice. The stigma towards drug users here is at another level – no one trusts us, everyone thinks that we are all thieves. I have been beaten on several occasions by youth that call themselves community police, about fifty of them; they beat me with electric cables.
So something must be done. Let harm reduction initiatives, however, not end up like the anti-malaria campaign in Kenya that handed out mosquito nets. Without guidance on a community level or local ownership, the nets didn’t go to preventing malaria but instead were used to catch fish.
To avoid this fate, we must intervene through the community collective to ensure the rights of women who use drugs are not violated. Needle exchange and medically-assisted drug treatments such as methadone and buprenorphine should be available through community mechanisms, but we have to also ensure the voices of women themselves are heard in determining what interventions will best help them. Indeed, these community voices must be the strongest component of the equation—or else we might as well all pack up our bags and go fishing.
Why Scrooge could not hold a candle to this family at cutting fuel bills; Seven in ten households pay too much, but saving money on power supplies is as easy as flicking a switch,FINANCIAL MAIL.
The Mail on Sunday (London, England) December 17, 2000 Byline: TOBY WALNE SAVING money on gas and electricity this winter could be just about the easiest financial step you ever take. And it needn't mean a relentless Scrooge-like economy drive. You don't have to switch off the Christmas tree lights at every opportunity, or turn down the thermostat the second that your house begins to feel warm and cosy.
All you have to do is join the thousands of families switching power suppliers - cutting annual costs by more than [pounds sterling]100 in some cases Chloe Langham liked the idea so much, she did it twice.
The 23-year-old from Ipswich, Suffolk, did not study the competition before taking the plunge.
She switched her gas and electricity supplier on the strength of door-to-door offers.
Chloe, who lives with partner Lee Race, also 23, and their 20-month-old daughter Ellie, started with Eastern Energy but switched to PowerGen after they promised savings.
She says: 'A couple of salesmen came round and persuaded me that switching made sense.
But they did not bill me monthly for my gas as I requested.
'So when an Eastern Energy representative knocked on my door about six months later and offered me a cheaper deal, I changed again.' Utilities industry watchdog Ofgem, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, believes millions of households are throwing away money because they are either too lazy or uninformed to shop around for a cheaper deal.
All-out competition among energy suppliers has been around since April last year. But so far, only three out of 10 customers have taken the free-market option to save themselves cash.
One who did shop around is Gwerfyl Gardner, 59, of Cardiff, who is keen to cut her household bills because she retires at the end of this month.
She picked supplier Servista.com because it promised to shave [pounds sterling]120 a year off her gas and electricity bills.
She will receive them over the internet and pay them by direct debit.
Gwerfyl says: 'I liked the idea of entering the 21st Century by using the internet to settle my energy bills. I am surprised that more people don't look around for a better deal. It is just like shopping for anything else.' Despite widespread misunderstanding, switching electricity or gas provider is simple. Ofgem says that 89 per cent of customers who have switched found it easy.
Just changing to direct debit payments will save up to 10 per cent off bills, though the average is three per cent, according to Ofgem. By making an extra effort and shopping around for the right supplier, Ofgem says the average consumer will save [pounds sterling]100.
Gas is cheaper than electricity and should generally be used wherever a mains supply is available. Two-in-one packages, where one supplier offers both gas and electricity, may give the best value.
Ofgem provides information showing which gas and electricity providers are available in an area and gives price comparisons. Its new offshoot, Energy Watch, will also help. here power supply calculator
Websites such as www.unrav elit.com and energysaveruk.com offer price comparison calculators that do all the number-crunching for customers. They make their money by charging utility providers for their recommendations. this web site power supply calculator
Joe Malinowski, chief executive of Unravelit.com, says: 'Outrageously expensive energy deals are usually offered to people moving into a new home.
It is essential that new homeowners look for the best supply deal.' There is plenty of choice with 16 gas suppliers, including British Gas, which still has 71 per cent of the market, and 13 electricity suppliers.
Eleven companies offer both gas and electricity. Details are available from Ofgem or Energy Watch. Ofgem spokesman Rob Jones says: 'There's a variety of pricing structures, with some having standing charges and some not, which makes comparisons difficult.
'You must sit down and study the details carefully. We can give ballpark figures, but if customers want to be certain about which deal to choose, it will be necessary for them to work out the figures themselves or to use the internet.' Jones says that switching suppliers will take a maximum of six weeks.
Customers must agree a contract with the new supplier and then tell their provider about the move and make sure that all outstanding bills are paid.
Those who do not could have the move stopped. A new supplier will read the meter or ask the customer to do it at the time of the change.
The old supplier will use this reading to work out the final bill. Keep a note of the reading to check the charges.
There is a seven-day cooling-off period, during which customers may cancel a new contract. Gas and electricity suppliers will usually want a month's notice for change.
Jon Kinsey, managing director of Virgin Energy, which offers gas and electricity packages, believes people should be thorough when looking for the best deal and not necessarily fall for sales patter.
Stories abound of pushy salesmen, both door-to-door and on the phone, persuading people to change suppliers when it is not in their best interests.
Kinsey warns: 'Don't just go for the cheapest deal. It is important that customers also get the right billing and backup options.
'Many will want to talk to a person rather than an answering machine if they have queries.' Kinsey thinks that companies such as Virgin Energy can undercut more traditional suppliers by hacking away the red-tape that still burdens the old gas and electricity firms. He says: 'Deals for gas and electricity customers are improving all the time as competition hots up.
'At the moment it is getting even fiercer, with lots of adverts from different suppliers trying to entice customers to change to them.' * Ofgem, 020 7901 7000 www.ofgem.gov.uk; Energy Watch 0800 887777; Gas complaints 0845 906 0708; Electricity complaints 0845 601 3131; www.energywatch.org.uk; Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (for energy saving tips) 0800 512 012; EnergysaverUK 0208 392 6624, www.energysaveruk.com; Servista 0207 813 5100, www.servista.com; Unravelit. com 0208 323 8030, www.unravelit.com; Virgin Energy 0800 085 0000, www.virgin.com.
How you can plug in to a buyer's market ABOUT 70 per cent of Britain's 28 million households pay too much for their gas and electricity.
Switching to a different provider can save an average of [pounds sterling]100 from an annual energy bill, says Ofgem.
Step One: Shop around like Gwerfyl Gardner (see main article). Ofgem has information on providers and charges. Consumer offshoot Energy Watch can also help. A number of websites make comparing charges simple.
Step Two: Set up a direct debit, rather than sending a cheque or paying cash. It can save up to 10 per cent off the total bill. A monthly direct debit will be cheaper than paying quarterly.
Electricity costs more through a coin or prepayment meter.
Step Three: Follow a few energy saving tips. Insulate the home, buy a more efficient central heating boiler and use the thermostat sensibly. Try not to waste energy.
For example, the average household wastes about [pounds sterling]30 a year by keeping clothes in the tumble-drier longer than necessary, according to Eastern Energy.
Step Four: In England, those on income support or receiving working families tax credit are eligible for a [pounds sterling]1,000 grant from the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Hees). Pensioners may qualify for up to [pounds sterling]2,000 towards insulating their homes.
Scotland offers a Warm Deal programme through Eaga.
And don't forget the Government's [pounds sterling]200 winter fuel allowance for the over-60s.
Hees 0800 952 0600, Warm Deal 0800 072 0150. Eastern Energy offers a free energy efficiency advice pack, 0845 762 6513.
Stay Informed
My colleagues,
Many thanks for bringing this into my awareness. I appeal to all health and human rights activists within this area of jurisdiction to do something urgently to save these Malindi women. KAPLET will be in solidarity.
Erick.
Kamukunji Paralegal Trust (KAPLET)
Republic of Kenya.
My heart goes out to these women. People are quick to judge before trying to understand.. How do we get them out of addiction..? Nice article..
I was wondering if the drugs to treat these additions are available in kenya. I think there are 2 of them. methadone and suboxone? There are alot of people are in need of them.
You are right JJ. Kenya is headed in that direction, however medically assisted treatment has not yet been rolled out as it has in Tanzania.
We must apply a two prong attack to these problems. While we find ways of helping the addicts, we must also press our government to stop the drug barons supplying more drugs.