"There is now more laughter in her house," Carol says of her mentee as she gives an account of her mentorship journey.
It's one year now since I started the mentorship journey with my mentee. In the beginning, I was not sure of the outcome, but I was determined. My mentee was at a crossroads when I met her, having served her time in prison and now navigating her post-prison life. She had lost her husband, slipped into depression and attempted suicide, which got her into prison. She lost hope in life. She considered herself a bad mother. Her own children isolated her. She was perceived as a devil worshipper. She lost friends.
Support
Before the trauma management training, the only thing I could offer to people experiencing problems in their lives was pity. After the trauma management training from Resilient Woman, I learned how to be supportive. I learned how to listen, even to an emotionally broken person. I learned not to be judgmental. I learned to see the good, the God thing, in people who are isolated and rejected. I gave her a listening ear. I listened to her worst fears. I became her confidant. I believed in her and in the possibility of changing her situation. It's out of these efforts that she is stable right now.
Now
She has reconciled with her children and most of her family members. She now has friends. She now sees life in a more positive way and is in turn a refuge to other people facing life's challenges.
Recognizing her need for an income to support her family, Resilient Woman supported the mentee with the equivalent of US$100 to restart buying and selling tea leaves from farms. She started by buying and delivering 400 kg daily. She currently delivers between 1,000 kg and 1,200 kg per day.
Resilient Woman is excited to be part of this mentorship journey, and we look forward to growing this mentee to the level of a mentor, so she can mentor and inspire others with her story of determination and resilience.
Written by Pastor Carol Chepwogen, a mentor.