My Mother Dumped Me in the Toilet Immediately After Birth
“I was born at home, on the Third day of June, 1985, to a single mother of one. Immediately my mother gave birth to me, she dumped me in the toilet…” This is the story of Martha, who like many others, came to learn later in life that motherhood does not always come with love for the offspring. She narrates how her complicated relationship with her mother drove her into countless convenience marriages and almost suicide. “I am told that well-wishers who heard a baby crying inside a pit latrine rescued me and took me to the Thika General Hospital. On arrival, the doctors cleaned me up and stabilized me. There was a couple that was having a difficult time getting a child, and they happened to be at the hospital at the time of my admission. As soon as they heard the story, they offered to 'buy' me. The nurses and other hospital staff were secretly conducting my sale. My auntie, who had accompanied my rescue team had briefly left to record a statement with the police whe