By Priyanka Zacharias | International Strategic Partnerships Manager
Thirteen-year-old Sara* comes from a remote part of northern Ethiopia. When she was aged five her parents divorced, and Sara started living with her mother and stepfather.
“My stepfather was so cruel. He used to abuse me, emotionally and physically. He didn’t allow me to go to school – instead I had to stay at home, herding cows and helping my parents with different jobs.”
When she was 11, Sara burned her hand badly while lighting a fire for her stepfather. It became infected, and because nobody took her to a hospital her fingers became inflexible and useless. Because of her injury, Sara’s stepfather deemed her to be no longer any use to the household – instead, he pressured her to move to Addis Ababa to search for work, earn some money and send it back home.
Sara found employment as a domestic worker in the capital. “The work was really hard because my bad hand didn’t work properly. I cried every time I tried to wash or do anything – it was too much. On top of that, my employer used to insult me.” She left the job after just a few weeks, and was found by Retrak staff on her way back home.
Sara was highly traumatised and the injury to her hand had crushed her self-esteem. Retrak provided her with all-important psychological support and medical care – and as her hand needed surgery, she stayed at the Deborah Lighthouse for 11 months for aftercare until it had completely healed.
Sara says, “I was so happy at the Lighthouse – I’ve never seen such love and care,” But she still wanted to go back home to her mother. To give the reunion the best chance of success,Retrak support staff provided parenting skills training and child protection training to her mother and stepfather, both before and after Sara returned home. The family was hugely excited to see Sara after such a long time and looking so well. With Retrak’s support, Sara is now in education and no longer doing domestic work for her stepfather.
*name changed to protect child’s identity
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