Youthful Resilience- Story of Young Jennifer

Jennifer, a very young mother, born to a polygamous home in Utan community, in Plateau State, was brought up with little or no parental guidance as each child in her home was left to fend for him or herself. Unable to complete her secondary education, Jennifer engaged herself in several domestic jobs for people in her community in order to fend for herself.  Her job as a domestic worker exposed her to different men who promised her love and marriage. As a young girl and without prior experience and naïve, She was promised love and marriage by one of the men in her community that took advantage of her naivety and impregnated her putting her at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) after words, abandoned her to cater for herself and the baby.

Jennifer was identified by a community case worker who saw her plight and referred her to Mashiah foundation where she was enrolled into the US Ambassador’s Small Grant Program (PEPFER),  during interaction, she is expressed her passion for Hair dressing. “All my life, I have dreamt of making people look beautiful, I prefer this because the business does not accommodate credit facility and I enjoy doing it’’. She said. She is attached to a Job mistress in her community where she is undergoing more training on hair dressing and collects little stipends to cover for her feeding and upkeep.

“I have also learned a lot about HIV/AIDS and how I can protect myself from such infections and negotiate for safe sex. The life building and financial literacy sessions, I have also built my capacity to set goals and I have saved N5, 000 ($16.3) from my daily stipends so that I can establish my own hair dressing salon after my apprenticeship.” She is currently being patronized by other young girls and she uses the opportunity to share with them the knowledge she has acquired on HIV/AIDS prevention and life building skills.

Jenifer Sunday is one amongst 50 adolescent and young people (10 to 24 year old) whose has built resilience to achieve their potential in life through the US Ambassador’s Small Grant/Mashiah Foundation program intervention with support from the American people through PEPFER.