*Anna

My name is Anna. I am 50 years old and since the first workshop I scraped the will together to talk about my life. My husband and I are together for 22 years but it is not 22 years of love but rather 22 years old struggling. At these workshops I learned a lot, how to be myself as well as to believe in myself. My husband does not beat me but the worse is that he rude to me, swears at me, the ugliest words. There is no love in our home. We don’t sleep in the same bed. For two (2) years he slept outside in his car.

I thought about leaving him then I had to think about where I would go because I don’t want to drift from one place to another, then I rather stay. I have two (2) children, a 34 year olds some and a 27 year old daughter. When they were younger and still on school he was extremely rude when he was under the influence of alcohol, he would beat them until they woke up, they weren’t allowed to sleep, and I was a nervous wreck. As soon as it was Friday all hell would break loose, I would tell myself that I wouldn’t get any sleep that night. When I would go lay done he would take the knives in the house, rub them against each other above my head and would say to me ’bitch, I will stab you to death’ then I would just stand up and smile but inside I was very afraid.

My son finished school in 1998 and wanted to go and study but I didn’t have any money. He wanted to be an accountant but because of his father’s rude ways he left home. I decided never will I allow my daughter to go through the same things.

I then started with a vegetable garden. I then started harvesting and started to sell my vegetables. I decided to rather start a business in order to allow my daughter to study. When his family comes to our home he drinks and says rude things about me. I know have four (4) grandchildren in the house and when his family visits he tells them they are monkeys. He is very rude. He is 68 years old. He says that when he scolds I must keep quiet but I told him I won’t. I get very upset when he swears in front of the grandchildren.

To live together for 22 years is not the same as 22 days. He never wanted to get married and we only got married on the 1st of May 2015. I just thought that we living together so long without love. I bought cows, pigs, chickens and gees from my money. Now that they have grown big he says it is his animals. This is where is decide just to marry him otherwise I will lose everything.

I did very well with my vegetable garden and took the knowledge that I gained in the workshops to draw up my business plan. I sent my daughter to college and she finishes in 2016. I decided I want my vegetable garden and animal businesses to expand so that I can supply big supermarkets. That is my dream for 2030.