Breaking the cycle of violence isn’t easy. But by sharing and applying what she learned in the WfWI training program, Mary was able to put a stop to the violence in her home.
Mary Apai Jojn
Mary enrolled in the Women for Women International program in 2013. “My group was so interesting,” she says. “I learned many things, such as how to earn an income, how to save money, how to balance my work and manage my finances,” she says. “I also learned how to ensure my own physical and mental health, and how to stand up for my rights and those of other women.”
“Now, my neighbors use me as an example for other women in the community on how to be self-reliant,” she says proudly.
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Mary, now age 27, was being abused by her husband. She had been forced to drop out of school after the fourth grade when her parents refused to pay her school fees any longer, but she couldn’t afford to send her children to school either. Mary and her family were unhappy, but she didn’t know how she could change.
When Mary shared what she had learned in the training program with her husband, the domestic violence in their home stopped. He helped her open a small retail business. “Now we share our plans and responsibilities together,” she says.
She also changed the way she cared for her children. She is no longer angry with them, sends them to school, and makes sure they bathe, eat a balanced diet, have a clean place to sleep, and access medical treatment when they are ill.
“I can now plan and work for myself and my family,” Mary says. “I am self-reliant, and now my husband is happy, too.”
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