Everyday You are changing lives. This is the story of how you have transformed Awilo Harriet's life - told in her own words. Harriet was not able to finish school. She was left pregnant and hopeless. That is, until Ignite Change saw her when the rest of the community had left her. Her story is just one of many. It’s a powerful reminder of how no matter where you are in the world we are all connected and we ALL need each other.
And next Tuesday your donation will be TRIPLED to reach and transform lives of families like Harriet's!
My name is Awilo Harriet. I come from Adak ‘A’ Village in Kamdini.
Before knowing about Ignite Change, life was not good. It was tough for me as a young mother because I got pregnant in senior two and dropped out of school. People were talking about me in the community which was very discouraging. I did not know what to do to make myself valuable and that made me feel hopeless at that time.
Ignite Change brought together a group of young mothers, we were trained for 6 months by a mentor from the Organization on important lessons like, life skills, business skills, God’s word, savings, and health education among others. When this training was done, we were graduated and given certificates, but it did not stop at that! We were then informed that 10 members would be taken for a tailoring. I am happy to say that I was among the members whose names were selected and benefited from the tailoring course.
It was not an easy journey especially for me as a young mother because at that time, I had a 6-month-old baby with whom I carried every day to attend the training course for 9 months. I endured and struggled until I completed my course because I felt overlooked and mocked by everyone except Ignite Change.
After completing the course, Ignite Change opened a tailoring center and gave us all the startup kits, tools and materials we needed to get started with our trailering business.
Today, I have become self-empowered, and my family livelihood has improved. I speak with all the confidence that I feel very different, my life has not remained the same. I have become very important to myself, family, and the community. I feel valued, respected, and helpful to the community because I am giving my skills and knowledge to other youths in my community by training them.
My family's economic status has greatly improved. I now make clothes out of materials for people, and this is generating income to provide for my family. I now pay rent for my business and support my children’s education, buy food, pay medical bills and can meet my family needs easily.
These skills have taken away my worries and the pain I had when I lost hope. Now hope is RESTORED and I am able to solve my problems. My family’s economic status has improved, I am happy, and my family is happy.