Angeline lives in Siaya County. Siaya county is in western Kenya with a population of 963,007.
Children below 15 years constitute 44 percent of the population, while youth aged 15-24 years make up 20 percent of the population (2015 KNBS Population Projections). The area's main economic activities are subsistence farming, livestock keeping, fishing, rice farming, and small-scale trading.
HIV prevalence is 24.8 percent and youth aged 15-24 have a prevalence of 6.2 percent which is three times higher than the national youth HIV prevalence (Kenya HIV Estimates 2015). Women are at higher risk of HIV infection than men.
Married at an early age, and with two sets of twins at age 19, Angeline was subjected to constant abuse by her much older husband. Giving birth to twins was considered a bad omen and eventually she was chased back to her parents’ home in Ulupi.
Being an orphan, a single parent, and a mother of four while hawking sugar cane to survive was not easy.
Through a DREAMS project, she was taught how to utilize her parents’ land for farming.
Angeline is currently growing rice, beans, and maize alongside poultry farming. She also gets vegetables from other local farmers and sells for a profit.
“I am now a rice farmer who is independent and can fight for my rights and those of others.”
Angeline
Girls with DREAMS
This profile is taken from the PEPFAR Kenya “Our Lens Sauti Zetu (Our Voices)” photo book — a compilation of images captured by DREAMS girls highlighting their own stories.
The following DREAMS girls were the eyes behind the lens and beautifully captured the stories of the young women featured in the project: Dorcas Akinyi Onyango, Agnes Wanjiru Mugure, Flovian Atieno, Faith Akumu, Francisca Ndinda, Effie Awino, Fatuma Lando, Dorothy Oyuga, Linet Odira, Hellen Atieno.
Text and images from “Our Lens Sauti Zetu (Our Voices)” are used with permission from PEPFAR Kenya. Learn more about Girls with DREAMS.