AGAINST ALL ; JOY’S JOURNEY
Joy Luso l Youth in Cairo, Egypt
I am Joyhawa Luso, I dedicate this story of mine to every girl who lived in our Eastern society, and to every mother who lived for her children and suffered so that they could see the light.
My story begins in the city of Khartoum, where I heard the first cry of my life on January 17, 2003. A baby girl who brought Joy... chubby, with rosy cheeks, and innocent like an angel.
Days passed, and I was the 7th child born after five girls and a boy who was older than all of us. I enjoyed love at the beginning of my life. When I was five years old, I was playing in the house with my mother, and she fell on my back by accident. It is still affecting me. She feels guilty, but I have forgiven her.
When I turned eight, our country was divided, and I discovered that my mother belonged to the other part of the nation, and from here the suffering began. We moved on a train journey to our home country while she was with us; a journey that lasted 20 days. We had to find shelter while my father was away working... We struggled a lot. Just as hope for stability appeared, war broke out in 2013 and calmed down. In 2016 My sister fell ill and finally passed away in Egypt. My mother traveled with her, my father was working in another city, and my older brother left us alone: me, my sister who is three years older than me, my separated brother, and our three-year-old baby nephew...
All these events made me stop my education at primary level
They left us alone in the village at night without us knowing anyone, except our neighbor who waited with us until morning and took us with her on our journey through the forests looking for the group. What happened, happened, leaving a painful mark inside me to this day when I was assaulted by a stranger who attacked me. I cried out with no one to save me, but someone happened to be passing by and killed him, then I was taken under a tree and said nothing. After that, we were taken to the refugee camp where we stayed... then we traveled and found our family who had lost everything. In Khartoum, we began to enjoy some peace step by step, until war broke out again to destroy everything we built. Here we are today, with nothing left but our existence, faith that gives us strength, and our daily food. All these events made me stop my education at the primary level, even though I was always among the top students until I reached the 8th grade. After that, my thoughts were scattered and I couldn't complete my education...
This is my story in short….
I am here trying to stand up again, with my siblings who are looking for their lost future, and with my parents who cannot work due to their health. My mother was born in 1961, and my father is 70 years old.
My confidence in myself and in the people around me came back
I heard about LP4Y from my family friend. I chose this place simply because I don't have many other options available to me.
The hope that beat inside me brought me here to face it, and now I find a ray of hope to save me and my colleagues. I have benefited a lot, and I will list the benefits in points: I felt my existence as a human being. My confidence in myself and in the people around me came back.
I realized I am not alone, and that there are people reaching out to lift me up. Through the training, I learned things I never thought would be useful.
I made sure that the trainers' cooperation in this program is a strong source of support. I found in them a helping hand, cooperation, patience, and true understanding of the challenges we face.
I don't think book pages would be enough to write everything, so I will stop here.
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