Veroriana

Veroriana grew up in a struggling household with seven siblings. Their father stayed home with the children during the week while their mother would walk to work. She worked at a farm a two day walk from their village. She would work for a few days, and then journey home again. Veroriana did not attend school because her parents did not believe that women should be educated, however even her brothers could not attend school because the family could not afford the school fees.

 

When she was eighteen years old, Veroriana went through Female Genital Mutilation. Afterwards, she was proud of herself for taking the next step into womanhood. Because of what she was taught, Veroriana believed that she would not find a husband and would not be able to bear children unless she was circumcised. Two years later, she married her husband and had her first of eight children. Together they were able to put all of their children through school. The two eldest children have both completed university and now help support their younger siblings alongside their parents. Their youngest child just completed her first year of secondary school.

 

Originally, Veroriana joined the adult literacy group because she wanted to learn how to write her name, and it has taught her that and more. She was also eager to learn how to use a phone so she could speak with her son who works far away as a secondary school teacher. Today, she has a phone and knows how to operate it and speaks with her son often. Through the group she learned how to crochet, her income from the baskets pays for the children’s school fees and purchasing livestock. She also learned the truth about FGM. She now expresses regret for going through it as a young girl because she knows that what she was originally taught was false. She speaks against FGM, and her own daughters have not and will not go through FGM.

 

Veroriana is extremely proud of herself, she has become the main source of income for her family. She loves crocheting baskets, and also enjoys making beaded necklaces. She has come a long way since her childhood and is very happy that she can do all of what she loves while supporting her family.