A young person's perspective

The work I do is, in many ways, all about transforming lives. Some of the lives transformed are through the work our overseas partners are doing on an ongoing basis, and it is a privilege to be involved in that work.
Some of the lives transformed are those of the young people we take on the overseas trips, who return to the UK with a new perspective on the world, and their role within it.

I feel that it is important to share some of the views that these young people have, and their thoughts about what they have experienced. So, at weekends, I am going to give you a chance to read their words - kind of like an 'open-mike' weekend!

Today it is the chance of Kizzy and Juliet to tell the story of their experience on a home visit to Tigist, on the recent W.A.R. trip.

'Tigist lives with her 3 year old daughter. As a teenager she was brought to Addis by her aunt who had promised her an education and a better life. But the realitly was very different. She was made to be a house maid for her aunt and cousins and the education she was promised was a myth. It feels as though it was only bait to lure her into the trap. Decieved by her only family she left and soon fell pregnant by her boyfriend at the time. Like many others, when he found out about the pregnancy he wanted nothing to do with her. To this day he doesn't even know he has a daughter. 2 months after the baby was born, with nothing to feed the baby, in desperation she turned to prostitution. Recently, after 3 years of this lifestyle she hated ,she joined the W.A.R programme. Tigist is only 23 years old - the same age as Kizzy, and yet how different our lives are.

For us it was our first CRED trip and we had no idea what to expect from our home visit.When the minibus pulled up we thought we might be visiting a modest but pleasant house to our right which made it even more of a shock when our guide Brikite took us to the left,across a sewage ditch and into a compound we would probabaly best describe as a slum. We followed Brikite and Tigiist down a muddy alley between canvas houses, dodging chickens as we went. We ducked through the low front door and were welcomed into a room which at first we thought was just a bedroom. Everyone was quite struck when we realised that was her entire house. A double bed almost filled the room expect for a chest of drawers and a small bench. It was remarklable that we even managed to fit everyone in. At first we were all timid and unsure where to begin. Tigist very much made sure were all comfortable and was kind to us but her face gave away a sadness beneath the surface.

She told us that her rent for the house was 400 birr a month, over half of her allowence from W.A.R. and so she washes clothes to supplement her income. She told us how her daughter used to be insulted by others because her mum was a prostitute. She had heard about W.A.R from friends who had completed the programme and was inspired to change her life in the same way. Although she is the early stages of the programme she said that her life is better already as she doesnt have to go out and work at night but can spend time with her daughter and wake up with her unashamed. This year she wants to gain a food preparation qualification and we hope and pray that if we were to visit her in a few years time we would see a different picture. As it is we all left humbled and in tears struggling to imagine living life as she does. We were really inspired by her strength and it brought to life how vital the W.A.R. programme is for women in Tigist's situation.'