“Before, I drank a lot of alcohol. I even brewed my own beer at home.” Mary lives in South Sudan. She is 37 years old, and has five children. At one point, her and her husband were using all their money for alcohol. They couldn’t afford to buy food or to pay their children’s school fees. “Sometimes I’d just go away for several days and leave my family alone.”
DISCUSSING EXPERIENCES HELPS AND SPORT IS MOTIVATIONAL
In 2014, Mary joined Women on the Move. Through football, netball and other games, traumatised women learn to cope with the past and to recover in daily life. “Discussing experiences with other women from my village really helped. Through sport and play activities, we became very close. I learnt to address problems and to communicate openly.” Thanks to the training sessions that Mary has attended twice a week, she has succeeded in changing her behaviour. And her relationship with her family has improved. “There is harmony in my family again,” said Mary, with a smile.
Thanks to the Women on the Move savings and credit group, Mary has started breeding and selling chickens. She also plants maize and breaks up stones. Mary is enthusiastic about her work. “We can finally pay the children’s school fees again! I hope that ‘Women on the Move’ will continue for many more years, that I can save lots of money from my business, and that I never miss a training session.”