Ugandan women rebuild traumatised lives after Gulf abuse
In 2017 Ounyesiga was duped by a recruitment agent and trafficked to work as a live-in nanny in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. She was promised a monthly salary of $400 (R7,220) — six times more than she could earn in Uganda. Instead, over four years, Ounyesiga was enslaved, starved, raped and jailed.
'When I returned to Uganda, I was so sick and frail,' the mother of two told Context/the Thomson Reuters Foundation via a video call. 'But I was luckier than most. I got help. I was taken to a hospital to get treatment, provided with a place to stay and given training where I learnt baking and was able to rebuild my life. Now, I feel I have a bright future.'
Ounyesiga is one of just a few African women who, after being exploited as domestic workers in the Middle East, have managed to forge a new path with support from international charity EverFree. The organisation operates in Uganda and the Philippines, providing survivors of human trafficking with shelters, medical and psychosocial care and skills training.
Monica Kyamazima, head of EverFree in Uganda, said the charity has helped hundreds of young women but many more remain trapped in poverty and suffering after returning from the Gulf. In 2024 the charity supported 353 survivors of human trafficking.
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