My name is Betty and I am a transgender woman living positively from Masaka. Before I understood terms like transgender, gay or lesbian I just knew that I was born into the wrong body. Growing up in a rural setting did not make this any easy on me because looking around there was no one like me or anyone that ever confided in me that they felt the same as I.

As I got older, I became more certain about who I was inside and started dressing like I felt. This did not go well as I received a lot of backlash not just from my family but the whole community. I started living my life in fear and still do up to this date.

There are people in the community like Musawo Grace who do not judge me and others like me for who we are. She treats us like we are human beings and is very sensitive to pronouns. The biggest challenges we have faced as a community during this period is access to refills and lubricants.

The refill of lubricants doesn’t seem to be a priority to the health officials at the hospital and we are pushed to think it is their way of oppressing a whole community. Hopefully through this campaign we could raise awareness on the importance of the refill of some of the essential commodities.

Editor’s note: This story was narrated to Kuchu Times Media Group Communications Director Samantha Ainembabazi who is leading the campaign I Am Woman in a bid to raise more awareness about Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender women living in Masaka and surrounding areas. In this scenario “Musawo” means nurse.