She chose silence to stay alive.  Sabina is 43 years old and a mother of three children, an 8-year-old boy, a 3-year-old child, and a newborn just one week old. When Sabina first came to Neema Village, she was nine months pregnant, only two weeks before she was to deliver.

Although her husband is alive, he has never supported his family. He struggles with severe alcoholism and uses both alcohol and marijuana. When he comes home drunk, he becomes violent and regularly beats Sabina. Their home was filled with constant fighting, fear, and instability.

Sabina tried many times to seek help. She reported the abuse to her husband’s family, especially his mother. Each time his mother confronted him, he would return home and beat Sabina even more. Two months into her pregnancy, her husband left without saying where he was going. People in the community would tell Sabina, “You are suffering alone while your husband is around, spending money on alcohol.”

Desperate, Sabina reached out to other family members, but they were unable to help.

When Sabina finally went back to her mother-in-law to report about her husband leaving them, the situation turned life-threatening. Her husband waited for her on the road, chased her with a hammer used for breaking stones, and openly threatened to kill her. From that moment, Sabina knew she had to run to save her life and protect her children.

She moved from that area and found shelter in a single muddy room where her husband would not easily find her. It was the cheapest place she could afford. The room was overcrowded, unsafe, and filled with a strong gasoline smell because she cooked using gasoline, the only fuel she could afford. When we visited her for an interview, we could barely breathe inside the room. But, Sabina and her two children lived, cooked, and slept in that one small space. Even then, she owed back rent and relied entirely on food given to her by kind neighbors.

As her pregnancy progressed, doctors told Sabina she would need a C-section due to serious complications. When she went for her last check-up before she would deliver her baby, she had no money to pay hospital bills. Fearful of being detained at the hospital, she even planned to escape with the help of a friend. After pleading with Social Welfare, she was allowed to leave after paying only part of the bill which was around 8 dollars.

When we asked why she never formally reported her husband to Social Welfare earlier, Sabina answered “If I only complained to his mother and he tried to kill me, what would he do if he knew I went to Social Welfare?” She chose silence to stay alive.

Through the MAP Program at Neema Village, Sabina finally found safety. Neema Village covered her hospital bills, and she safely delivered a healthy baby girl by C-section. Today, Sabina is recovering at the Neema MAP Centre with her 3-year-old child and her newborn. Her eldest child is in school.

She will stay at the MAP apartments until she recovers, because it’s safe and healthy for her and her babies, especially the new born but she will get the help she needs. Returning a newborn baby to a gasoline-filled, muddy room would have put the child’s life at risk. At Neema Village, Sabina and her children are protected, cared for, and given the space to heal.

Once Sabina recovers, she will begin counseling sessions to help her heal from years of abuse and trauma. She will also attend sewing and other skills-training classes offered at Neema Village until her baby grows. When she is ready, Neema Village will support her to begin her own business, giving her the opportunity to provide for her children with stability.