Creaw Portal

BY JANE AKINYI

You might mistake her for a twilight girl when she stops out­side a seedy bar in Kisumu.

She looks around before en­tering, seeking out her target. Mrs Philomena Mashaka spends many nights in bars and brothels but with a noble mission.

Her rare compassion for teen­age prostitutes has seen her brave the perils of darkness.

She visits bars and lodgings at night looking for. young girls driven by poverty and other forc­es into prostitution.

Mashaka, 47, is the director and founder of Teenage Mothers and Girls Association of Kenya (TEMAK).

LEAVES HOME

She leaves her husband and children at home on many nights for her sometimes dangerous task.Last week,The Standard met her at a popular nightclub, Bot­toms Up. in Kisumu town.

HE ROLE OF POYERTY

High levels of poverty drive teenage girls onto the streets in urban areas. They turn into prostitution and frequent night clubs where they are seduced with money.Despite several attempts to keep them out of the streets, the numbers are increasing.

"I knew she was risking her life and i tried to help the ones could," she adds.

Another drunk girl asked her:"Nikienda darasani nitapata mzungu wapi anitimizie manit­aji yangu? "(If 1 go to class, where will I get a white man to cater for my needs)"

NUMEROUS CHALLENGES

But these are among the challenges she faces every night and she says they make her strong."Sometimes get turned away by girls as young as 12. When i get into a bar,older girls whisper to each other <Mama Temak arne­kuja' (mother Ternak has come)

Nicknamed her 'the saviour'.

On average, she rescues at least three girls a week, and has rehabilitated more than 170 teenage girls, most of who are now self-dependent.

Mashaka started TEMAK in 1992 as a Christian fellowship where members discussed the plight of young women,espe­cially teenage mothers.

In 1999. together with some well-wishers, she built a centre at Tom Mboya estate and registered it as an NGO,dealing with teen­age mothers and orphans.

She quit her job as a teacher at DHT Secondary School, Kisumu, and devoted her time to helping girls."I decided to quit the job asi realised that enticing them with free drinks makes it easy".

"I use my savings to buy them drinks and when they gather around the table,i talk to them, asking about their problems and why they have turned to prosti­tution,"she says.

Mashaka is often careful not to condemn their actions as this only drives them away."You have to be extremely po­lite in explaining to them that they are in a dangerous trade, without being too harsh," she explains.She pays the girls some allow­ance from the sale of the artifacts and clothes.

CONFESSION

Mashaka confesses that she lost two teenage sisters on the streets and this made her resolve to help others.She says her husband. Mr Ioab Othatcher has been very supportive and even helps run the centre."Initially. it was hard for him to understand why i had to do this", she says. One day,she surprised him when she came home with sev­eral teenage girls.

Rescued girls graduate from the rehabilitation centre. { Mrs Philom­ena Mashaka with some of the products' rescued girls make at the rehabilitation centre.