Hope Reborn: Gasaro’s story of resilience
For privacy reasons, the individual’s name used in this story has been changed to “Gasaro”
Gasaro is a queer and a mother of one child, he’s a painter and tailor who made clothes to improve his life and paint to express his feelings in his own diversity.
In 2021, his parents chased him away from home because of how he felt, where they said they could not believe a girl who acted like boys and wanted to dress like boys, “They said there was a devil in me, they chased me, they said they were worried for my younger siblings that I may infect them, my dad was like We need you to go and never come back.’ “Said Gasaro.
He lived on the streets, where he had to do a lot of work, collecting garbage for the rich people, but he was paid so little money. He didn’t mind, because all he wanted was food on his plate. He stayed on the streets because he had nowhere to sleep and it even rained on him sometimes, but he knew he could not go back home, “I kept trying and trying till one day, a horrible night I was from working, and I only got 500 in my pocket. “Said Gasaro. “I was sitting on the streets, all alone at night, I was wondering which food I should eat, because I felt really hungry, and I had little money; two men came and asked me why I was sitting outside, all alone and I tried to explain to them, but it was just my bad day.” Said Gasaro.
When those men saw that there no one was passing, they saw it was very dark, they took advantage of the situation, and they raped Gasaro. “I didn’t know where to go, I didn’t know whom to tell, I just kept everything to myself” said Gasaro.
After some time, he started getting sick and he went to the hospital; after leaving the hospital, he got dizzy and was vomiting, he then went to see the doctor after getting more sickness and they found that he was pregnant and had HIV, “I was vomiting, getting dizzy and I thought it was the work that I do, but the sickness continued, so, I said I should go and see a doctor, but when I got there and they checked me, they found out that I was pregnant and I had AIDS, I could not take the pain, but I had to move on.” Said Gasaro.
I gave birth to a young boy and at the time he didn’t know how to live a life with his kid. So, he had to ask his friends and strangers for help, and that was the first time he heard about BBI (Blossom Bridge Initiative). “After all the struggles, one of my friends introduced me to Blossom Bridge Initiative (BBI) and told them what they do. I got there and they helped me with recent projects, now I can plan for my future.” Said Gasaro.
Now he does his work at the BBI center that includes painting and also sewing clothes, to be able to solve his own problems and for his future. “Right now, I’m using a sewing machine, I’m refining art and I at least feel happy because I know my kid will not go hungry, and I know I’ll have money, and I’ll have a good future for him.” Said Gasaro.
