Trigger Warning: These stories may contain details that some readers may find painful to read. 

She grew up abandoned. Her father was married to two women and her mother was the neglected wife. Her mother too, left her, leaving the other woman to maltreat her. Her father did not have a good enough job and that further infuriated her step mother and so she took it out on her. At a young age, she had to find other means to take care of her. She was an industrious girl and someone saw potential in her. 

Because she was not in school, someone decided to help her in the pretext of being a good samaritan. He promised to take her to school and cater to her needs and all she had to do was work for him in his NGO. She was working as an interpreter for this ‘good samaritan’. Unbeknownst to her, he had other plans. He not only raped her, he also infected her with HIV at a very tender age. Even with this, she was still a determined young lady who sought to make a difference. In her words, “the experience also taught me that children should be given free chance to express themselves regardless of their sex, economic status and social status in the community”. She acquired a lot of experience as a volunteer to help humanitarian work. 

It was after this and having gone through so many hardships that she had her first episode. She explained that she was manic, no one listened to her, no one offered to help her. She walked through the streets with a baby on her back and no clothes to keep her warm. Men attempted to rape her and herbalists try to take her baby away from her. People called her mad and just left her to roam the streets. As fate would have it, someone that knew her father reached him and she was taken to an institution where she got help. Because of her condition, some people refused to do business with her as she was ‘mad’. Thankfully, with medication, this young lady is ok now. She is able to do her business with those that trust her and she is able to take care of her son who is now 15.