December’s Hopeful News

DECEMBER's Impact Report:

Thank you for encircling our scholars with holistic support during this pandemic. Your donations are helping us respond to the ever evolving needs in our community.

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# of women provided with food

15

 

We held a year-end celebration with our women in the Malkia Program which provides education for women in prostitution.

# of leaders trained in storytelling

12

 

We held our quarterly Leadership Lab in Kenya and Zambia to train survivor-leaders on conflict transformation, public speaking, and storytelling.

scholar highlight of the month

2020 was a tough year, yet I am happy that I managed to do my college qualifying exams and passed well. I am also grateful that despite the ongoing condition worldwide concerning COVID-19, I have been able to take my licensing exams. I am also happy that I graduated with my diploma on December 4th! All this was made possible through the holistic education Freely in Hope has provided for me. They have given me continuous psychological and financial support throughout my education.

Upon graduation, I hope that I transition well to the degree program and become a qualified nurse so that I can use my skills and knowledge to help the community and the world at large to attain good health and end the cycle of sexual violence. I am certain that with Freely in Hope, I will be able to go further in my education and fulfill my dreams.

Ursullah signature
Freely in Hope Scholar
Aspiring Nurse
Class of  2022

Staff Highlight

Freely In Hope

A few weeks ago, our global community spent time in reflection to celebrate the successes of the year, recognize the challenges, and move forward with hope. We’ve done a lot this year, pivoting our outreach programs during a pandemic, ensuring safe housing and education for our scholars, and learning to disseminate lifesaving materials on sexual violence prevention, advocacy, and reporting to our communities in new ways.

However, accomplishing this innovative work came at a cost this year and we need your help to continue this important work.

It’s been a difficult year for all of us on staff as we have experienced loss, grief, and anxiety on multiple levels. Our shared suffering has brought us closer together through weekly Global Staff Calls that have proved to be an inspiring, encouraging, and stabilizing practice for our leadership. We’ve discussed topics on building trust, compassion, and hope in light of the uncertainty of the season.

Despite the many challenges that the pandemic has brought, our teams across Kenya and Zambia dedicated their all in service to our community of survivors. They found ways to innovate our programs so that we could still achieve our mission of ending sexual violence efficiently and effectively. Together, we reached over 13,172 people this year! See how!

I know the pandemic has hit all of us in different ways. If you are able, you can help us close our funding gap from the year so that we can continue our important work of ending sexual violence into 2021. Thank you so much for standing with us through the years. It means the world to our community!

Nikole Lim
International Director

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When Children Find Their Voice: Building Safety From Where I Stand

I used to dream of a community where children could grow up not feeling afraid. Where women didn’t have to scream every night. Where survivors could rise as leaders and lean into their lived experiences to bring the change they wanted to see. The dream didn’t come from some abstract place, it came from living in Kibera, from knowing what it feels like when poverty exposes girls to vulnerabilities, from understanding firsthand what happens when children don’t have the language to recognize violence as it’s happening to them.

Principles of Survivor-Centered Ethical Storytelling for Nonprofits

The “survivor complex” is real, and it deeply impacts the people we walk alongside. The survivor complex is a psychological and relational pattern that develops when a person has survived trauma and begins to relate to themselves primarily through the identity of “survivor.” It often forms because systems, communities, and even support programs repeatedly reinforce this identity, sometimes unintentionally.

Q& A From Pain to Power – The Super Girls Revolution with Magdalene

As a survivor of sexual violence, I started SGR in my mother’s backyard because the need to ensure girls were supported through mentorship, education, and empowerment was so urgent. My dream was always consistent: to mentor girls to take up space and be leaders, allowing every light in the community to shine.

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