While each individual Neema student has her own story surrounding her life prior to Neema—who she was raised by, how she survived, etc.—they all collectively carry the burden of extreme material poverty. And even though coming to Neema, with adequate food, lodging, clothing, healthcare, etc., has relieved some of that burden personally, they still carry that burden for their families.
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Her dad agrees it’s true that she isolated herself and felt like life had come to an end — she didn’t see any reason for it. But by coming to Neema, Brenda was taught that her inability to continue on to high school doesn’t mean it’s the end of life. She accepted that and is now moving on and has hope in life. And in terms of the tailoring skills she’s learning, Brenda has been bringing good samples of her work home and can even give them to the neighbors.
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But in this moment, it hit me hard that some of the families we’re working with are actually those found within the statistic, “10% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.” Because of this, Angeline’s parents didn’t have the money needed for the required uniform and school supplies to send her onto high school after she finished 8th Grade.
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"I have peace in my heart even when I know things at home are not so well. But I asked God to give my heart peace because I am tired of worrying all the time. I decided to trust him with everything so that I am able to focus."
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Now that she’s back in school, Sarah’s father says that she has hope. Because he didn’t have the money to pay for school fees, Sarah was supposed to just stay home. But after they heard about Neema and she started, it has transformed her in terms of education and good health, and he’s grateful for that. His desire is for Sarah to have hope and a bright future.
Sarah says she is grateful to God for bringing her to Neema because she knows after she is done with school she will have to give a helping hand to the father who does everything single handedly.
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But because of one young woman healing from past trauma, getting educated, and learning a trade, she’s able to support her family and help those in the same generation get the formal education she missed out on, an education that will hopefully have multiplying returns in the future.
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Since Brenda joined Neema in January of 2021, her grandparents have seen a change in her. Her grandfather shared, “Brenda is really responsible and clean. She doesn’t need to be followed around to do her work. Even in her talking, she’s growing and maturing.” Her grandmother says, “Brenda is a great girl. She is disciplined and is an example. When I went away for two weeks to bury my mother, Brenda was left with the other kids, and she was responsible for taking care of them. She is calm.”
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I have learned to love unconditionally, and this has helped me extend it to the young women at Neema and the people I encounter without passing judgment…. We do trauma counseling at Neema to help our students to spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically address their personal experiences and come to terms with and recover from traumatic events by becoming survivors and knowing their true identity and worth.
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