Behind closed doors is a life between step children and step mothers. Step mothers brutally handle step children. These very children who are victimized are actually very innocent.

Step mothers ought to know that these kids did not contribute to be what they are. They also yearn for that tender, soft parental love and care. Give it and they will pay in kind some future time to come. One Keza Angelique tells her sad story to Tracy.

My name is Keza Angelique but I am commonly called Gikumi as my nick name and I was born in 1993. I just found myself living with my aunt, a sister to my father. She later died when I was eight years old.

After her death, my dad took me to his home where I found my step mother and step sisters and since then I have never been happy.

My dad treats me fairly well but my step mother is harsh to me. When I had just joined my father’s family I could not be reminded to rest during the day like I had always done in the past.

At night I would sleep before taking supper and nobody bothered to wake me up. Then in the morning, I would have to go to school on an empty stomach.

In case of any slight mistake, I could get myself a very hard blow on my back or even be beaten with a stick. One time, a concerned neighbour told my dad about what was happening and when he asked me, I told him it was true.

He understood and promised that after my primary school, he would take me to a boarding school in S.1 where I would stay away from my step mother.

When I am at school, I am a bit happy but when time comes to go back home I get worried because those beatings make me sad.

I often feel like running away to an unknown place where I can live free from the beatings but when I cool down, I sing a song because songs help me to get relieved.

Although I am leading that kind of life, I partially get relieved when I think about the too much love my step sisters have for me unlike their mother.

They love me so much to the extent that sometimes when I am being beaten, the younger one also cries and the mother shouts at her to be quiet.

Dad’s presence at home makes me feel safe and secure from those beatings. I know step mum will not just beat me for no good reason when dad is there.

I made up my mind to study hard and become a nurse in future. I pray for my step mother to change and if I grow big I will always preach to step mothers to stop ill treating innocent children.

Children living a life like mine should respect and obey their step mothers and persevere, go to school; study hard then they will make it in future after they have been successful.

Ends