Diana’s Journey of Transformation

Empowered by Faraja Young Women Development Center

We began our day by visiting 21-year-old Diana. After learning she was pregnant, Diana’s uncle told her about Faraja Young Women Development Center. Diana grabbed the opportunity to attend The Center with two hands. As with all the teenage mothers at The Center, Diana knew nothing about parenting. When asked about her reasons for wanting to attend The Center, Diana said she wanted to learn skills to become independent, but mostly she wanted to become a better parent. Diana shared that her relationship with her child strengthened as Faraja helped her. She learned how to raise her daughter and create a bond between them.

When the time came to leave The Center, Diana worked for various offices to save money for her six-year-old daughter’s schooling.

In response to our question, “Would you say The Center helped you? How so?”

Diana shared that Faraja gave her the opportunity to speak in front of people during classes. This daily opportunity helped her to overcome her shyness. Furthermore, she mentioned that she is still using skills she learned at The Center; knowing how to socialize and live in a community has been very helpful to Diana’s daily life.

Diana’s Inspiring Journey

Today Diana is an entrepreneurial owner of a hair salon. Because the salon is just beginning, Diana is waiting to purchase a house. Her daughter currently lives with her mother and Diana lives with her aunt. Diana makes certain to send money to her family on a regular basis, visit at every opportunity, and when needed, work for additional income supporting her mother’s catering business. Diana’s daughter drives her to succeed and to be a better person each day.

Diana’s experiences at Faraja Young Women Development Center gave her the ability to sustain and provide for her family without the assistance of a husband. Her success proves Faraja’s mission: when determination meets the right support, success is inevitable. Diana’s future dreams include having a large, growing business; she yearns to own a home in which she can continue to raise her daughter. She also desires to have the money to send her daughter to a good school.

At the end of our visit,

we asked Diana to describe The Center in three words. To answer our question,

Diana replied: knowledge, behavior and skills.

Winifrida’s Success Story

Empowered by Faraja Young Women Development Center

Winifrida’s smile highlighted the second part of our day. When we arrived at Winifred’s workplace, we were ecstatic to see her in her element, embracing her new life.

During our visit, Winifrida shared her experience during her stay at Faraja and the benefits she gained from it. As Winifrida began her story, she recalled how a former Faraja student was the one to tell her about the Center and its mission to aid teen mothers like herself and Winifrida. Therefore, she immediately jumped at the chance to receive help, especially since she was in a bad place mentally and did not have hope for the future before coming to Faraja. Winifrida claimed that from the moment she arrived at The Center, the teachers and the staff lifted her up and helped her see the light behind the clouds. She was delighted to finally find a place offering refuge and help.

“Would you say The Center helped you? How so?”

She confided in us how Faraja helped her gain confidence and new skills. As volunteers hail from diverse corners of the globe, the center not only strengthened the connection between Winifrida and her daughter but also facilitated their acquisition of the English language. Hence, Winifrida believes this knowledge of English was the reason her daughter was accepted to an English middle school.

As part of Faraja’s preparation for professional life, Winifrida’s fieldwork was in a hotel. A man from the lodge where she now works offered her a job at the end of her stay at the center. Approximately 50 people can be accommodated in the lodge. Winifrida is responsible for housekeeping, cooking, and helping with the hotel’s management. Besides working at the lodge, Winifrida sustains her family in agriculture.

How Winifrida Transformed Her Life with Faraja’s Support

Upon their departure from the center, teen mothers receive a starter package offering cash for beginning their new life. Winifrida used the money to buy 15 sacks of crops. One sack contained 100kg of crops. Winifrida’s business acumen served her well as she sold these sacks, using the profits to provide her daughter’s schooling and to pay for building a three-room home

Winifrida is now 23 years old, and her daughter is eight. Her daughter is a secondgrade student enrolled in an English middle school. As in Diana’s case, Winifrida’s mother is caring for the young girl while Winifrida works supporting the family. She sees her daughter twice a year, as well as during holidays when she is not in school. Winifrida’s ambitions and hopes for the future include opening her own restaurant and building a home in which her daughter and she will live.

At the end of our visit,

we asked Winifrida to describe Faraja in three words,

she answered:  Hope, Relief and Empowerment.