The peer educators want to leave the sex trade. They are selling sex out of pure desperation. Not only is there the risk of sexual gender-based violence, HIV and STI transmission, and unplanned pregnancy, but it is simply not what they had hoped and dreamed they would do.

The business skills training is empowering the girls and women with the knowledge and skills to be able to run a viable business, providing a fulfilling, safe and life-giving alternative to earning an income. In Bulawayo, 26 ladies took part in business skills training and learnt about management, marketing skills and proposal writing. To date, 19 proposals have been reviewed and six other ladies have been approved for vocational training. Skills workshops will take place next month. In Plumtree, five ladies have received loans for poultry, clothing and detergents ventures. In Hwange, 20 ladies are already selling clothes, pork and vegetables, and two ladies are undertaking vocational training. In Gwanda, the ladies have formed a cooperative group, using their entrepreneurial skills to sell second-hand clothes.