I felt changes in my body and realized I was pregnant. Because of the circumstances and other problems in my life, I had to have an abortion. It's difficult for me to provide for the children I already have—I make money by selling food and cigarettes on the street, and from time to time by cleaning people’s houses. And my partner was not able or willing to support this pregnancy.
I talked to some people I am close to who agreed to help me have an abortion. They showed me which herbs to use and I drank them.
At first, nothing happened. After a few days I started to have pain. I started to bleed and I felt very weak. I suffered a lot, so I went to a doctor. I had developed an infection. They removed what was left in my uterus and I felt better.
Here, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, it is not easy to talk to people about something like this. I only told some people what happened—but I can’t tell anyone else, not even my mother. If I tell anyone, they'll think I'm a monster. In our culture, if you have an abortion people think you're a witch. So many women do it in secret and it can be dangerous, or even kill them. This is what almost happened to me.
I would like us to break the taboo on abortion and treat people who have abortions as normal people.