Lesotho: Untold story

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I used to condemn call girls and thought that they were cheap; little did I know that one day I would be one of them. I graduated from varsity in 2009 and have not been employed since then. Believe me I have applied but have never been called for an interview. I have my late sister’s children to look after, I have bills to pay and I need money. I had to make a plan or else I would have exploded.

When it started, I did not know that I would end up where I am today. I have a male friend who works in the private sector. As such he has a lot of connections as he meets new people every now and then. There was going to be a conference in the country and a lot of people were coming for the event. I hooked up with my friend and he invited me for dinner one night and we talked as usual. Then he told me about the conference and how many people would be attending. He said he would hook me up with one of his colleagues from Zambia. I had never been connected before and did not know what to expect. I agreed to meet the guy. Everything was arranged and when he arrived we met. He was a few years older than me and I could tell that he was in his forties and a family man. We had dinner and soon we were chatting and getting to know each other. I slept in his room for the whole week that he stayed in the country and he gave me R5 000. I could not believe it; R5 000 in just 5 days!

I became addicted and every now and then when there were conferences or summits, I would know ahead of time and be prepared for the new man. I even preferred them over boyfriends, what is the use of having a boyfriend who will not even support you? All they want is sex and they cannot even take care of you. They call me a gold digger because they see me in different cars with older men. Who cares? After all I know what I am looking for. That was the attitude I had adopted and soon enough I lost lots of friends, because they did not approve of my behaviour. They did not understand where I was coming from but I knew that I had to put food on the table and I had to make a plan.

Soon business was good and I would make R10 000 in a week. I soon lost interest in job hunting, what more was I looking for? The money that I would earn monthly if I had a job was not close to that. I soon loved what I was doing and friends began to envy me, they would say all sorts of things and I really did not care. I met a guy from Ghana and he was so into me that he kept in touch after he had left for his own country. He would call and he wanted me to visit him, I was skeptical about the idea and asked him to meet me in South Africa and in a few weeks we were together again. He was good about paying me and I did not want to let him go. Soon we got to know each other and he took very good care of me. He opened up a salon for me and it is doing quite well. It is true that he is married but that does not bother me. He takes good care of me and what more could I want? I have had boyfriends who would not give me a cent, so his marital status is not a problem for me at all.

Now I know that I do not have to worry about money, my business is doing quite well and he is also good to me. He sends money when I need it and he takes me on holiday to different places. I am 37 and still single and I am not worried at all. After all I have seen how my friends suffer, married to their broke husbands, so I am not ready to walk down the same road as they have done. It is true that at times I wonder what will happen in the end, but I have never regretted going into the sex business, not even once.

*Not her real name

This story is part of the “I” Stories series produced by the Gender Links News Service encouraging the view that speaking out can set you free.