One small step to a giant leap

By Wiwik Widyastuti

Lorong Pepaya looks empty at noon, not many people are seen in the area. Wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt, Nisa sits on a wall bench against the iron fence. Her lips are moving, silently counting the packs of condoms in her bag. Her wrinkled face and army-cut make the thin middle-aged woman look tired.

Nisa was born 48 years ago in Manado, North Sulawesi where the north part of the region borders with the Republic of Philippines, Sulawesi Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Only having completed his sixth grade, Nisa’s father worked as a barber. Meanwhile her mother, who was a housewife, stayed at home and took care of their four children. With limited family income, Nisa and her siblings’ education was not a priority; survival was the ultimate goal.

Nisa is a friendly and easy going person. She was only 22-years old when she moved away from her family. A friend offered her a job as a store attendant in the city of Ternate, around 120 km from Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province. Tempted to earn money to help the family, young Nisa accepted the offer and left her hometown, unaware that the offer was deceiving. Instead of becoming a store attendant as promised, Nisa became a hostess in a nightclub. And that was her entrance to her nightly life in Ternate.

 Nightly profession

Working as a hostess or a waiter in the night club turned out to be not such an easy job for Nisa. Not only did she have to work extra hard, but the money she made was small. When another friend talked her into becoming a sex worker to get bigger earnings, she instantly fell for it. 

For a year, Nisa lived her life as sex worker in Ternate before moving out to places in Maluku islands, Biak, Sorong, and Merauke in Papua, while still in the same line of work.

Nisa quit her job when she met and married a man in Bitung, a city on the northern coast of Sulawesi, approximately 47 km from Manado. In the same city, she later raised their two children. Unfortunately for her, the happiness did not last long. Her husband left her and her two children to be with his first family. Heartbroken, frustrated and penniless, Nisa quickly returned to her old profession – the thing that she trusts will contribute to the family’s survival.

Lorong Pepaya in the city of Bitung is where Nisa lives and works every day. Bitung is also the name of one of the commercial ports and a tourist gateway in North Sulawesi. The port is well equipped with a pier capable of accommodating modern cruise shops. Every day, there are tens of cargo ships docked in the harbor. Nisa’s clients are mostly the ships’ crew. Usually, Nisa gets around 400,000 IDR (around 35 USD) from three to four clients a day.

HIV Positive

For around two decades Nisa has been earning her living this way, with countless clients. Despite acknowledging the high risk of infection by sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV/AIDS, she felt that it was nothing to be scared of.

“I am not afraid of disease. You can never predict sickness and death. The things that are obviously needed are food and clothing. Those two are the priority,” Nisa utters as justification for her decision.

Nisa was first introduced to the CARE program by Rosa, an outreach officer of Yayasan Pelangi Kasih, a local faith-based organization who CARE partners with and also a distant relative and former sex worker. Nisa’s meeting with her was a gateway to valuable information about Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS; that haunt the people working in the area.

Finally realizing the high risk she was facing, Nisa visited the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center (VCT) in November 2008 to be tested. Nisa is infected by HIV, another bitter fact to face.

“I was thoughtless before, but when I found out I am infected with HIV/AIDS, I felt lost and hopeless. I even thought about committing suicide,” Nisa whispers in despair.  

 The silver lining

Fortunately, Nisa received support from the people in her surrounding community. Not only moral support, but they also help Nisa in getting the right treatment for the disease, including the anti retroviral medications. The support has made her stronger.

Not wanting others to suffer the same way, Nisa is now actively involved in the program as a volunteer to spread information about HIV/AIDS, the importance of using condoms, and being tested at the local VCT.

According to Nisa, those who are at-risk listen to people like her. “They want to listen because they know that I have gone through the same path with them. I don’t judge or blame them,” states the woman. “I am able to put myself in their shoes. I understand their position and the problems they are facing in real life.”

Since around 5 months ago, Nisa no longer works as a sex worker. She now washes peoples’ clothes for a living. Sometimes, she accepts calls to be a masseuse from people in Lorong Pepaya, where she lives, and other times, she sells condoms to those visiting the area. At night, Nisa visits the small chambers and night clubs in Lorong Pepaya; offering condoms while educating the workers. Sometimes, she gives the condom away for free.

“I sell these condoms for 5,000 IDR per pack of three (roughly 50 cents USD). I don’t get much from it, but then again, it is just one way for me to promote condoms and prevent the spread of the disease,” says Nisa while putting back a pack of condom to her bag.

Through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded HIV/AIDS Prevention program, CARE supports the Government of Indonesia’s efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in North Sulawesi. This province is identified as one of the areas prone to HIV/AIDS as many of the people move around often and there is a high number of sex workers, both female and transgender, in the area. Like in other places, stigma and discrimination directed at people living with HIV/AIDS have made the effort to prevent the spread of the disease harder.

“The involvement of the mothers and community leaders in disseminating information about HIV/AIDS is crucial. In fact, it has become the spearhead of the program success,” explains Rieneke Rolos, Program Leader of CARE Indonesia. “They spread the information mouth to mouth; therefore the stigma on people with HIV/AIDS can be reduced.”

“I don’t want many people to suffer and die from AIDS. I want to help,” Nisa pledges, as she knows best that many of her past clients were married men.

Thanks to Nisa, many sex workers have actively persuaded their clients to use condoms; a protective measure for the clients and themselves. “It is a small start, but it’s a good start.”

NOTE: The names of the people in the story have been purposely changed to protect the identity of the people in this story.