For those who haven’t watched the video I will be referencing in this story, can be watched below.

I am sure a lot of you remember the last and only time I cried nearly uncontrollably on camera. Some of my friends laughed at me because I cried helplessly as a man without any attention to the story. In as much as I would like to say I brushed it off and moved on, I didn’t. I was so broken by whom I had interviewed and the story I had heard. Interviewing a young lady and hearing her story of constant sexual abuse, I knew I will not be able to fully help by removing her from that abusive environment was a torturing experience for me. Just as her predicament wasn’t taken seriously, I knew not many will come to her aid and that was devastating.

What broke my heart was her determination to leave that abusive home by taking up a cleaning role to save up little by little but from where I sat, that dream of her’s seemed bleak. Then again, knowing that after interviewing her, she will be going back to her abusive home was very hard. As a young adult being sexually abused and in the midst of such family complications, it is very difficult for victims like her to speak up or even get any help and I understood that. This dilemma in the midst of unpromised aid from our community (our only source of funding) was indeed sad. I knew even in situations where they are removed from such environments, the question will remain, “How will they survive on their own especially when their abuser is their only financial support system?” Then we will begin to doubt our efforts of helping such victims if it was good or bad especially if they are left hungry leading them to take even worse decisions. The problems, anxiety goes on and on…

That is why I am so glad that the Voice Of Inspiring Inclusive Change Equitably (VOIICE) has come up with an entrepreneurial skills training and development program of 27 skills for target populations of abuse and discrimination to engage in. This way, we will be sure of their empowerment into becoming financially independent so that they won’t have to endure abusive environments again. VOIICE seeks to work with partners, community members and our support system to patronize the goods and services of graduants of these programs. #development#training#changemaker