Bhanu's Story – reclaiming life bit by bit

Twenty-five year differently-abled Bhanu from Andhra Pradesh recalls her childhood, "I was always made fun of as I limped". Her parents worked as laborers and considered spending money on her education a waste.

She adds, "My family would shout 'Why don't you take some poison and die?' or 'How long will you sit here, why don't you go somewhere?'" She left home at the age of 17 and went to the town of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

There she met a woman, Rani, who agreed to offer shelter on the condition that she would bring back whatever she earned to her. Later she pushed her into sex work to get more money saying, "You can get Rs. 300-400 if you sleep with five or six men."

"On the first day I slept with five men and it was very painful," Bhanu recollects.

This continued for two years until she met Shiva, a lorry cleaner, who said he wanted to marry her.  She escaped from Rani but her hopes of a new life were soon dashed. "Shiva would bring auto driver friends to me for sexual favors", she recalls.

She soon learnt that Shiva was already married with two children in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. One day he left and didn't come back.

Alone and pregnant, Bhanu contemplated suicide but was saved by friends and admitted to the maternity hospital where she was found HIV positive. She delivered a child who died of jaundice within a month.

Some time later she approached ActionAid partner organization Women's Initiatives (WINS) that provides care and support to People Living with HIV/AIDS.

WINS helped Bhanu set up a small cart to sell food on the roadside. But her new boy friend and family members took away whatever she earned. She decided she could not pursue her work and returned the cart to WINS.

But she continues to attend WINSPACE (a forum and support group for HIV/AIDS affected people) every month where she has found a space of her own and hopes to reclaim her life bit by bit with a positive spirit.