Botswana: *Boitumelo

I have learnt on how to get out of abuse . To my surprise I found people with more problems than mine which really motivated me that I can come out of any abuse. I started this programme in 2014 and attended all the trainings. This programme helped me never to look down on myself, to learn about business and all it entails for me to start up my own e.g. market research, problems I may encounter and also how to be patient but all in all I have managed to make use of this programme as I now sell airtime.

Before I started this programme I thought I was worthless and I did not find my purpose in life but right now things have changed as I now sell airtime and I now can support my family. I tried to seek help from the poverty eradication programme to no avail. I ended up going to the council offices to seek help then that’s when they assisted me.

The abuse that I went through was from the father of my child. I learnt that as a woman, you should not allow yourself to be a victim of abuse and that if you have a problem you should talk about it rather than bottling things up. Things have now changed because right now I am empowered and people can really see that my life has changed for the better. The farther of my child abused me so bad he told me that the baby was not his when I was pregnant and the sad part is that he infected me with HIV on purpose.

I did not give up in life despite all he put me through rather I showed him that I can do just fine without him by my side. All this education helped me reduce the abuse in my life and helped me become the person I am today. I managed to change because now I do not depend on man for a halt rather I am now able to support my children with the little I get. At times people I live with asks me how I manage without working and without a man by my side but I always tell them; it’s because I have accepted the situation.

I have learnt a lot from this programme that I can now open a business without any hesitations. I am going to use the knowledge I gained from this to empower other women. My dream is to see myself having my own company and living in my own house by 2030 and I hope that all my dreams will   come true with the help of gender links. I managed to open an account, I have a licence and I have legally registered my company.