Shelter for child survivors of abuse in Malaysia

Emily, 5 years old, was admitted to WAO shelter with her mother and elder sister in April 2018. Emily has been exposed to domestic violence against her mother since birth, making her very insecure and clingy toward her mother at all times. This also caused Emily to be very fearful of her surroundings and her mother’s and sister’s wellbeing.  As a result of being in an abusive environment and trauma exposure, when Emily first came to WAO, she was very shy, quiet, reserved, scared and continuously had nightmares of her father returning. The exposure also impacted her learning and intellectual abilities, in that she could only speak a few words, and none of english when she first came to the WAO, which was a concern for her age. At times Emily would experience breathing difficulties, and other behavioural difficulties such as maintaining positive relationships with her sister. Emily additionally had limited strength-based development, such as in areas of interpersonal skills, resourcefulness, creativity, and basic academic areas of reading and writing. 

Since coming to WAO in April 2018, Emily has blossomed as a result of a positive, interactive and supportive environment, and Emily’s mother is extremely proud of all the positive changes she is now seeing in her daughter.  Emily, her mother, and sister live in the WAO Shelter, and it is clear that the combination of  such an environment,  intellectually stimulating programs and homeschooling sessions has shown conducive for Emily’s overall development and growth. 

Emily’s mother has expressed that today, she is very interactive and social, and has truly come out of her shell of being reserved and fearful toward others. She has even been observed as a ‘ natural leader’ by some of the mentors and coaches of programs and activities she has participated in. This advance in interpersonal development observed in Emily is not limited to simply being more interactive however, as Emily also displays knowledge of interpersonal soft skills such as manners and recognition of social cues when interacting with others. Emily has additionally burgeoned creatively and academically, as she is now able to read and write, and form full english sentences when conversing. Her mother notes that in the activities she participates in, she is resourceful, imaginative and thinks outside the box when she encounters a challenge, and is additionally a very fast, hands-on learner. 

Evidently, through bringing her out of a negative and discouraging abusive Emily’s mother has observed the great potential her daughter has toward developing and strengthening her intellect, interpersonal, and academic skills; capabilities that were shadowed and limited by the abusive situation she was previously in. Emily is increasingly bright and creative, and both her mother and WAO are looking forward to her being able shine brighter each day in a supportive and encouraging environment.