From the perspective of a Neema counselor:

Finding love, learning to pray, and overcoming suicidal thoughts

One of our counselors, Jackline Birungi, lives in Uganda, so she holds regular Zoom counseling sessions and visits Neema as frequently as possible to meet with students. Last week, she visited Neema and shared some of her highlights with the young women:

First year student 1: During one-on-one counseling, a first year student asked me to teach her how to love because she doesn't know how to receive or give love. She had never been hugged in her life, and she was not [open] to being hugged in the first sessions of individual counseling. I asked her if she could allow me to demonstrate it through listening and giving her a hug twice a day in the morning and in the evening. By the end of the week, she looked brighter and had learned to hug with ease. It was exciting teaching her how to give and receive love through non-formal counseling. She had never been loved in life, and it’s at Neema she [is] being loved for the first time, and neither had she ever been hugged in life.

First year student 2: Another first year student shared how she had never interacted among people like [those] at Neema. Because of this, her self-esteem is low, and she’s without confidence. She said she was always in the house, isolating, and she did not know how to cook or do household chores. But she was excited that she is learning to cook and live among many people. She could barely walk with her head up, but she [is] learning to speak among the friends and interact.

First year student 3: While in another counseling session, a student shared how much she hates God. She did not want me to pray for her afterward because she had never prayed or been prayed for her entire life. But through follow-ups of non-formal counseling she [is] learning to accept prayer. She said she has learned [about] God through Neema, and she was able to make a prayer in a few words, and she asked me to keep praying for her to learn to pray on her own.

Second year student: She shared that she has, on many occasions, wanted to commit suicide. But when she remembers how she is loved at Neema, she overcomes the suicidal thoughts. She said she loves me so much — that she sees me as her mother. Every time she remembers me, she feels comforted, and it gives her hope to move on because she is loved.

These are the stories of change: fragments amidst the greater transformation. At the beginning, it can look messy. But it’s always a treasure to see these young women open up, soften their hearts, and find forgiveness and healing!