SIKINANI LENDUMA KOINASA   

Sikinai (left) and Suilali both from same village

I was born in the village of Matale in Engarenaibor region.  My father has three wives.  My mother is his third wife.  She is from Mshie Village on the border of Kenya and Tanzania .  I am my mother’s first of five children, one boy and four girls.  My father has no cows.  He looks after other people’s cows so that the family can get milk from them. 

I began Standard I in 1999 at Matale Primary School .  I went without a proper school uniform until I got help from a mama, called Maria.  I spent weekends helping her with housework like washing clothes, utensils, fetching firewood and water. 

On school days I woke up at 3am.  I would sweep the house, wash utensils and prepare breakfast for the family.  At 4 am, I would leave my house with my friends to go to school which we reached at 9am.  Almost every day, we met with wild animals like elephants, lions, leopards, hyenas, monkeys and others.  From July to October it was worse because of the drought.  The wild animals come nearer our houses (bomas).  They sometimes blocked us from going to school.  At 4 pm School sessions ended and only in rainy season did the teachers allow us to leave school at 3 pm.  We normally arrived home around 8 pm.

In 2007, I did my final examinations and when the results came I was selected to join Shigateni Secondary School .  I spent the holidays after completing Standard 7 at Engarenaibor (far from home) attending extra classes.  I had a friend there who took me to her home.  I continued studying while helping with the housework.  During weekends, I went back home. 

After two months of extra classes, my called me home.  I had no choice but to go and I did that very day.  I arrived home at 8am.  I met my father and another man I didn’t know.  My father spoke harshly to me.  “I want you to get married and this is the man I have chosen to marry you”.   There weren’t any traditional procedures followed.  I was told to leave my father’s Boma the same evening.

I started to cry in front of my father and pleaded, “What wrong have I done, my father, that you send me out of your house.  I want to continue with my studies”.  He told me, “How dare you answer me like that!”  I had to leave with the man. We walked for one and a half hours to his Boma.

I don’t think my father planned for me to get married because he could have found a person from when I was in school.  This man was from the Meru tribe.  They met in the place selling local brew.  He corrupted my father’s mind buying him beers and he agreed to give me to him in return.

When we arrived at his place I stayed inside the house crying for three days in a row.  He was already married and his wife did not like my presence.  She kept telling him to take me away from her house but she was beaten and insulted.  Both of us were not happy.  After three days we got used to one another.  I was given a bed next to hers in the same room as the house had only two rooms, a sitting room and bedroom.  After a few days, I conceived and continued to stay with him for five months.  Then I escaped back home.  He was a drunkard and did not take care of us and had no cattle.  He would stay away for two weeks without bringing us food.  Neither I nor my co-wife had a job. 

I went back to my mother and explained everything.  She was so sorry and started arguing with my father so that I could stay at home and give birth at my father’s home.  At first he resisted but my mother then brought another old woman to ask him to allow me to stay. He agreed and on September 12th, 2007, I gave birth to a baby boy. I called him Elijah.  He is so beautiful.  I love him.

My mother took care of me throughout the maternity because when my father allowed me to stay home he swore not to help in any way.  One day during maternity I told my mother that I was going to leave her with Elijah and go find a place where I could continue my education.  She asked me if I knew any place and I answered, “No”.  She told me leaving her with the child was not a problem because she can take care of him but, “DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO?”

I didn’t know but knew Almighty God would lead me.  On Sunday, August 10, 2008, around 8 am, I said goodbye to Mama and left home.  I didn’t go very far.  I returned home twice because I could hear my mother crying.  I went back to comfort her, telling her that I will be okay.  My father was in the forest grazing cattle.  I left home walking to Engarenaibor without a penny in my pocket.

It was market day there.  I met many people from Matale and they asked me where I was heading so I told them that I was around and would go back home in the evening. I sat under the tree near the road to Longido waiting to see if anyone there was going to Longido.  One man happened by and asked me why I was sitting there.   I lied to him that I was just resting and would go back home in the evening.  He gave me 2000 Tsh ($1.80) to buy myself a drink. 

I thanked God and made a plan.  Bus fare to Longido is 3500 Tsh and I only had 2000 Tsh with me.  I decided to walk to a place where the bus fare will be around 2000 TSh to Longido.  .  I boarded a bus after walking eight hours from Engarenaibor to Tinga.

From Tinga I arrived at Longido around 9 pm.  I didn’t know where to go or what to ask.  I slept under a tree but could not sleep.  I wanted to knock on doors of people but I was afraid.  In the morning I saw a taxi.  I asked for a lift.  The driver agreed and took me to Arusha town.  It was 10am.  In Arusha, I asked a woman, who wore Maasai clothes, in Maasai language, to show me the Police Station.  She wondered why I asked to be shown the place.  I told her there was no big problem, but I just wanted to go to school.

I explained to the Police Officers what my problem was and one of them took me to the Regional Education Office.  I met the Regional Education Officer.  He phoned Emusoi and the Director allowed him to take me to the Center.  We came to the Center and I met Sister Mary.