Five years ago, Kalista had no hope for any kind of future. She had fled South Sudan’s civil war with her six younger siblings to the relative safety of Imvepi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda. She escaped the violence of war. But sadly, at Imvepi she exchanged the threat of violence for the heartbreak of sexual exploitation.
Today, Kalista is a bright and enterprising young mother. After completing her therapeutic and skills training program with ChildVoice, she returned to Imvepi. There, she knits and sells sweaters and does hairdressing. She makes enough to feed herself, her young son Daniel, and her six siblings. But to maintain her success, she needs an ongoing level of counseling support and guidance. That’s why we need donors to support our aftercare programs – to help former ChildVoice students like Kalista successfully navigate their new lives.
Kalista: From Exploited Refugee to Entrepreneur
Kalista faced enormous challenges as soon as she arrived at Imvepi Refugee Settlement in 2017. She had six younger siblings to care for. Food relief was limited, and market goods were unaffordable. She had no income and no marketable skills. Vulnerable and alone, she fell victim to a man who promised to help her. When she became pregnant at the age of 17, he refused to take responsibility and disappeared. In desperation, after giving birth she tried brewing and selling alcohol at one point just to make what little money she could to feed her child and siblings.
Today, Kalista knits sweaters and does hairdressing in the settlement. She can feed her family. And she’s saving money to send her son to school. She gets peer support through her village savings group. But like all of the girls who complete our programs, she needs the ongoing support services ChildVoice provides through aftercare.
What is aftercare?
Aftercare is how we provide long term support to our students after they complete our therapeutic and skills training programs and integrate into their communities. It includes three years of extended support, such as:
job coaching
life skills coaching
supplementary business training
individual and group counseling
By supporting aftercare, you are helping to ensure the long-term success of our students like Kalista as they navigate their new lives with renewed resilience.
The psychological and emotional wounds that war and exploitation inflict on children are deep. They can take years to heal. That’s why it is so important to maintain support for students like Kalista through aftercare. War-affected girls leaving the security of a therapeutic program can feel alone and set adrift. Without aftercare support, they risk falling victim to exploitation once again. At ChildVoice, we don’t abandon our students. We walk with them as they build confidence in themselves.
It’s easy to ask for help to build a well. To purchase farming supplies. Or to fund a vocational training program. It can be tempting to think the job is done once a new well has been installed, or a student has been trained to use a knitting machine. But for Kalista and former students like her to enjoy long-term success, they need continued support to ensure their long-term growth and wellbeing.
Your ongoing support is vital to the success of aftercare. A sustaining donation of as little as $25 a month will help a young refugee mother like Kalista achieve ongoing success.