JUDITH EDWIN’S STORY

This is the story of a 37-year-old woman named Judith and mother of three children aged 12, 5 and 2 years old, who was living in one small room with a bed, a charcoal fire for cooking and a few plastic jugs which turned upside down made a chair.

The stories of these women who struggle to find a husband who will stick by them thru hard times, work and help them raise and educate their children, love them even when they are old and sick, things we all want, are hard to hear and hard to read.  Please stick with us as we try to tell their stories.

Orphaned at a young age Judith’s mother died in 2006 and her father died in 2010. She was raised by her grandmother in difficult and poor conditions.  Unfortunately, then her grandmother died and she was left with an aunt.  Judith could not finish secondary school (7^th grade) due to a lack of school fees.  Her aunt was very abusive, and would not give her the love she needed as a child.

Very young she turned to men for the emotional support she needed.  As a young girl she left her aunt’s home and came to Arusha to work as a housekeeper.  She wanted to make money and be able to support herself, but by the time she left her aunt’s place she was pregnant with her first child.

Her boss told her to leave because she would not let her deliver at her house and she told her to go back to her family.  Judith left and went back to her aunt’s home because she had no other options. She stayed with her aunt until the baby was six months old. Then she went back to work with the same boss until her child was 5 yrs old.  Unfortunately, then her boss died.

Then she had to leave her boss’s house because no one was able to pay her salary. She decided to rent her own place and while living alone she met another man and became pregnant with her second baby.  She told the man but he denied it. When she pursued legal action, he bribed court officers, resulting in the dismissal of her case and denial of her rights.

Despite being continually knocked down, she was determined to succeed and began a small fruit and vegetable business to support her family. However, her health began to fail due to frequent illnesses, forcing her to abandon the small business. Life became increasingly difficult, and the burden of medical expenses and caring for her children pushed her further into debt.

Unable to cope financially, and in an effort to manage her growing loan burden, she decided to enter into a third relationship, hoping for stability with another man. Unfortunately, the third man later abandoned her and their baby when the baby was 2-months old.

Alone and overwhelmed by illness and stress she gave up on life and wanted to die. She stopped taking her medication. Her physical condition deteriorated even more.  The nurses at the hospital where she had been going for clinic realized that she had not been attending the clinic for months and decided to call her. Alarmed, hospital social workers, after assessing her health condition, referred her to Neema Village for urgent support, and to receive formula for the baby so she could stop breastfeeding.

Judith is now in the MAP Program at Neema Village, receiving a monthly food allowance. After months of counseling, she started taking her medication again and her health has improved. Neema Village through the MAP Program found her a new place to live and bought the house supplies for her; bed, sheets, pots and pans, etc. She also now has a small grocery store business (DUKA) selling soaps, flour, cokes, etc.  Through Neema’s counseling programs Judith has a chance to learn about a Father who will never leave her.  She can meet other women who have been abandoned and abused by their men and she can take classes in business, computer, sewing, English, reading and writing, Bible and hopefully one day realize she is deeply loved by a Savior who came to earth to find her and bring her home.