By Francis Kumakech | Program Assistant
Evelyn does charity work in her church while raising eight children, her four biological children and four orphans. She lived with her children's father but was not legally married to him, although she still referred to him as her husband.
Evelyn said, “I was the Chairperson of Mothers’ Union in my church. But soon after living with my husband, he changed my religion. After some time, he decided to stop me from attending Mothers’ Union meetings and also rejected my request to be married in the church so that I could become a recognized chairperson of the organization. Time came when we would either quarrel or completely not talk to each other. He became abusive and life was becoming so difficult for me. Our staying together was meaningless yet I could not leave home because of all of the children. The worst part of it, he avoided all responsibility for our family.
"One day, I heard that there was a local group called Aketo Koma (Dedicated Workers) giving a free training on domestic violence, I promised myself not to miss it! My husband didn't know that I was attending. But immediately after the trainings, without me saying anything to him, I saw him starting to change. He was coming home early in the evening and, when he started teaching me how to live in a violence-free home, I realized we got the same messages. He had attended the same training but was in a different group from me! One day soon after the training, I came home and found he had cleaned the house and washed clothes for the children – something he never did before. What a surprise! After a week, we were going to church together with all of the children. And now he is pushing for our wedding at church so that I may regain my position as the Chairperson of Mothers’ Union. Since we now live happily and share responsibilities, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Aketo Koma and its members who were able to bring this huge social change in this village. and to my family.
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