"Over the years, as the yield of fish diminished, some of these fishermen offered a deal have sex with me and I'll make sure you have fish to sell. Since a number of these men were HIV positive, this practice has contributed to the high rate of HIV in Kenya. Some women felt they had no choice but to agree. Others were determined to fight it and came up with a radical proposition."
"What if the women had their own boats and hired men to fish for them? With a grant from PEPFAR, they got their first fleet of wooden boats. And they flipped the power dynamic. Over the years they have faced obstacles. Wooden boats degrade; they got funds for new boats from a charity called World Connect. Then came a devastating blow. In early 2020, a deluge brought the waters of the lake over their humble village of mud-walled homes."
"Almost all their boats were destroyed. But the women have kept a tight bond even in this time of displacement and during the upheaval in foreign aid this year, which has made it difficult if not impossible for those who are HIV positive to obtain the drugs they need to suppress the virus. This year, a Kenyan reporter who was part of our 2019 team visited the women to see how they are faring."
Women at Nduru Beach sold perch and tilapia and faced coercive deals from fishermen offering fish in exchange for sex as yields declined. Many fishermen were HIV positive, and the practice contributed to high HIV rates in Kenya. Some women formed No Sex for Fish, proposing to own boats and hire men to fish, and secured wooden boats with a PEPFAR grant. Wooden boats degraded and they received funds from World Connect for replacements. In early 2020 floods destroyed almost all boats and displaced villagers. The women maintained a close bond, but upheaval in foreign aid has made obtaining antiretroviral drugs difficult for HIV-positive members, leaving survival in 2025 precarious.
Read at www.npr.org
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