The Story of Joyce
Joyce is a middle-aged mother of two. In March 2022 she had a miscarriage at 5 months. The miscarriage happened at home in the night. Her husband abandoned the family and Joyce was so depressed that she became suicidal. In her own words, "I was unable to eat as the image of my baby’s foetus made me lose my appetite. I ended up losing about half my body weight."
Joyce heard about the Mwangaza training from church announcements. On enrollment, the safe space offered during the group sessions made her comfortable to open up. She was able to benefit from the counselling sessions which are a consequence of the Mentorship program. A fellow participant of the same training, Cecilia has been holding Joyce’s hand and helping her slowly regain her life. She gives her work and pays her for it. Although Joyce has not yet been able to set up a business, her self-esteem has improved and she sees a counsellor regularly.
Joyce says, "The counselling has greatly changed my outlook in life and prevented me from committing suicide and leaving my children without a mother". Joyce was brought up by her grandparents, who have since died. Both her parents are alive but each got married to different spouses. Joyce was never accepted by either of the two families. She says, "I look forward to being able to bring up my children with the parental care and affection which I did not receive since I was only 6 months old".
As soon as she has saved enough she hopes to start selling second-hand shoes or clothes.