Dina Makhoha had a difficult life growing up in a blended family. Her father married a second wife without the first wife’s knowledge and that is when her misery started.
Dina narrated how the stepmother would drink alcohol when the father was away and cause chaos at home. Dina was forced to take care of her disabled stepbrother when her mother went on a drinking spree.
“I had to tell my biological mother that my mother had taken in another woman because of the suffering I was going through and fights ensued between the two. My father was furious and wanted to go upcountry to live with my mother but I knew if I did that I would not continue with my studies. I had to beg him to forgive me,’ she said.
One day she came back from a drinking spree and physically abused her. There was a confrontation between the two that ended with Dina getting stabbed on the left side of her neck. Today, the mark she notes signifies how she survived death in her father’s house.
“I was shocked and I ran to my uncle’s place because I feared for my life. I was bleeding I lied about the incident to avoid more conflict. He rushed me to the hospital and I was treated but I did not want to go home,’ says Dina.
According to her, she returned to her father’s home to pick up her clothes, she did not want to live in the same house because she feared for her life.
“I went to live with my uncle until I finished high school albeit on and off. My father did not support my education and I relied on my uncle and the school’s deputy head teacher,” she adds.
After High School, she got a job in Kibera but did not want to start a life without reconciling with her father. On arrival, she found everyone in the compound in mourning. Dina was informed that her stepbrother had died and was to be buried the next day.
“My stepmother accused me of killing her child and this broke my heart. She chased me away from the home,’ she recalled.
After the burial, her drinking became worse. This was exacerbated by the loss of her child she would cry and mourn her child every time she got drunk.
“Any time I tried to comfort her she would hit me really bad. My father was aware of her drinking habits and did nothing. She would embarrass us by insulting me and the neighbours. She even accused me of sleeping with my father, and this happened in front of strangers, I still do not understand why she hated me like that,” she said.
She later found herself working in a bar, she recalls being tricked into believing it was a better job
“I had not been informed that it was bar, they forced me to wear short dresses and I did not finish a month working there because she could not keep up with the lifestyle,” she said.
In the interview, Dina appealed for a job, she advised young women not to allow themselves to be used or give up when life gets tougher.
