She left school pregnant and unsure what came next. Today, she has a trade, a plan, and a promise to her child.
Name changed to protect her identity.
Efua was a schoolgirl with a future ahead of her. Then life changed.
She is one of eight children, three boys and five girls. Their home had split in two. Some of the children lived with their mother, and others lived with their father. When the family finally came together again, money was already tight, and life got harder. To help their mother put food on the table, Efua’s older siblings left school to work. Efua and the younger ones stayed in class for a while longer.
In the end, only three of the eight children made it through their education.
Efua nearly became one of them. But just as she finished primary six and was getting ready for junior high school, she became pregnant. Her schooling stopped before it had really begun.
When Efua came to Challenging Heights, she did not have to choose between learning and caring for her baby. She enrolled in our fashion design training, and her child stayed safe and cared for within our programme.
For two years, she learned to cut, sew and design. She stayed focused. She finished.
Efua has now completed her two-year training and is getting ready to open her own business. Her child will remain in our care for two more years while she builds her income. Then she will come to take her child home.
It is a simple plan, and it is hers. She will have a skill, a source of income, and a child she can raise with dignity.
In her own words:
“Thank you for your support throughout this entire journey. With your help, my child and I were not left to suffer on the streets. God bless you.”
Too many girls end their education when they become mothers, and too often the story stops there. In Efua’s family, five of eight children never finished school. Hers did not have to end the same way. Her story shows what becomes possible when a young mother is given training, childcare, and someone who believes she can build a future.
None of this happens without you. Your support gave Efua two years to learn, and gave her child a safe place to grow while she did.
Efua’s journey is not over. It has only turned a corner.
