13-year-old Haymanot* was tricked, trafficked and forced to work for months while being mocked and tormented.
Now, after being cared for in a Hope for Justice Lighthouse in Ethiopia, she is safely home. Our team were delighted to see her joyfully embrace her mother and then hold her beloved baby sister in her arms.
Haymanot’s father left to find work in the city when he discovered that his wife was pregnant. However, he never returned.
A neighbour took advantage of the family’s impossible financial position, saying they could arrange work for Haymanot in a nearby town. Eventually, Haymanot’s mother agreed. But when she later went to visit her daughter, she was appalled to find that she had been moved to an unknown location near Addis Ababa.
There, the young girl was being forced to work for someone who drank heavily and would then insult and demean her and her family.
Haymanot was turned out of the household several months later when the trafficker took on someone else. She managed to find the bus station. Having arrived in the capital, she later wandered around until a concerned passer-by took her to the police station, and she was referred into our care.
While being supported by our expert team at one of our Lighthouses, Haymanot began to gradually recover and to express herself. Fluent in both Amharic and Afaan Oromoo, she helped as an informal translator for other children and our staff. She particularly loved dancing and also enjoyed playing football.
Haymanot said: “I would have ended up on the street if I had not come to the Lighthouse.” She also said that our team had helped her learn about different forms of abuse, how to stay safe, and the importance of education.
When Haymanot was ready to begin her next chapter, our team used their local expertise to locate and contact her mother and bring her home.
*Name has been changed.
