{"id":208751,"date":"2021-03-02T14:01:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T19:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=208751"},"modified":"2021-03-02T14:01:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T19:01:38","slug":"an-unexpected-challenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/an-unexpected-challenger\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unexpected Challenger"},"content":{"rendered":"
When Ann married a man she barely knew at age 14, she believed the union was the only quick fix to escape her household, where an abusive step-father made life unbearable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ann\u2019s situation is not uncommon in Kenya, a country<\/span> ranking 18th highest<\/span><\/a> in the world for the absolute number of women married or in a union before the age of 18. Statistics show that girls living in poverty like Ann are <\/span>twice<\/span><\/a> as likely to marry under 18.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ann didn\u2019t think things could get worse until she became pregnant. After giving birth to her daughter, Ivydinah, at age 16, her husband renounced his responsibilities as a spouse and father. He drank constantly and engaged in extramarital affairs. He\u2019d leave for days at a time, only to spontaneously return to their home, angry and drunk, to mistreat Ann.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This was when Ann began thinking about taking her own life. \u201cI was so hopeless, and I became withdrawn. I did not know who to reach out to for help, but I kept on wishing that I would disappear from this world,\u201d said Ann.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It was Ann\u2019s family\u2014her desire to raise Ivydinah and find a way to help her mother and younger sister, Mercy, safely leave the throes of the abusive step-father\u2014that kept her going through this dark period. She found the strength to leave her marriage and took refuge at a relative\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly after, she joined Zoe Empowers Kenya and the Joyous Kirua empowerment group in January 2019. By April 2019, Ann started her own farming business, beginning with a single plot of land and a few vegetable seeds (cabbage, carrots, potatoes). Zoe provided her with a hoe and machete to assist with land preparation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n