They are between 12 and 17 years old and they are the new slaves. No longer deported to the Americas, but slaves in their own houses, enslaved by their own people.
Girls, often illiterate or who had to leave school for some reasons, come from poor families who have decided to send them to work for some wealthy family, in one of the big cities of Tanzania.
Slaves, without a contract, without a decent salary, who work from 05.00 in the morning until late at night, often in inhumane conditions, subjected to all kinds of violence: verbal, psychological, physical, and often even sexual by the man of the house.
In this year KISEDET welcomed 12 of these girls, rescued from the street by some kind souls, who welcomed them into their home for one night and then took them to the governmental Social Welfare Office the next day. Social workers, in turn, entrusted them with KISEDET for family reunification and school placement, in the formal education system or in a vocational school to learn a proper job and live a dignified life.
It often happens that the landlady kicks them out in the middle of the night just for breaking a cup, or because she discovered that her husband was abusing the girl: therefore the blame does not fall on the viscious husband, but on the defenseless girl.
KISEDET takes care of these girls but it also makes sure that the Government cooperates denouncing the families that have “employed” or rather enslaved the girls, so that they don’t perpetuate the same abuses, but regularly hire adult ladies as housekeepers, instead.
You can support these girls by donating to KISEDET.