{"id":218398,"date":"2024-05-29T12:28:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=218398"},"modified":"2024-06-06T09:54:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:54:18","slug":"fionas-fight-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/fionas-fight-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiona\u2019s Fight for Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

Days before Fiona\u2019s mother passed away, she made one last request of her eldest daughter: take care of her three younger siblings. Despite being thirteen and still a child herself, Fiona promised her mother she would honor this request.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after her mother\u2019s death, Moussa, Fiona\u2019s seven-month-old brother, had a seizure. The episode scared Fiona badly, so she packed up the family and moved in with their father, who\u2019d never provided for his wife and children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Fiona\u2019s father still wasn\u2019t interested in helping. He quickly remarried another woman and forced his children out of his home. Devastated and desperate, the four siblings moved in with their elderly and disabled grandparents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiona dropped out of school to care for her siblings and grandparents. She found work in the community, hauling manure, fetching water, and weeding crops. The pay couldn\u2019t sustain and nourish a family of six or provide proper medical care for Moussa, who continued to have seizures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Misery turned to panic when Fiona\u2019s aunt arrived at the house. Ostensibly, the aunt wanted to introduce the family to Kenny, her one-year-old son, but after a couple of days, she disappeared, leaving Kenny behind with Fiona. Suddenly, the family grew to seven.<\/span><\/p>\n

At night, as Fiona lulled herself to sleep to the rumble of an empty stomach, she thought of the promise she\u2019d made to her mother. Was it even possible to keep it?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For five years, Fiona struggled to keep her family alive. Finally, in 2022, Fiona, then 18, experienced a spark of hope: She joined Zoe Empowers Rwanda. The timing was an answered prayer as Moussa\u2019s condition had worsened. With swift help from Zoe, Moussa was hospitalized and diagnosed with epilepsy. She finally had an answer to his condition with a treatment plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Fiona dutifully attended the Zoe Empowers group meetings and soon received her first grant. She knew the grant\u2019s purpose was to start a business but couldn\u2019t resist spending the money on food for her family. The group eventually provided Fiona with a second grant. But, again, Fiona spent it on food.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ashamed of her behavior, Fiona stopped attending her group\u00a0 meetings\u00a0 and fled to another city, where she found a job as a housekeeper. It wasn\u2019t until she received word that Moussa was no longer receiving proper medical care and was on the verge of death that Fiona returned home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mentor of Fiona\u2019s former empowerment group discovered Fiona was back in town and asked the group if they would welcome her back. They agreed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Luise, Fiona\u2019s group mate, said the group understood Fiona\u2019s challenges and empathized with her struggles. \u201cWe saw how big her responsibilities were,\u201d Luise explained. \u201cWe loved her and wanted to be a part of her life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, by this point in the program, many of Fiona\u2019s peers had experienced significant changes in their lives. Seeing this, Fiona recalls feeling hopeful.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started to believe that I could do it like my group mates\u00a0 had done,\u201d Fiona said. \u201cI wanted to be like them.\u201d Accepting a third grant, Fiona promised her group that she wouldn\u2019t disappoint them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiona used the grant to start a business selling vegetables. Her profits afforded the medical attention Moussa needed to survive. She also paid back the grant money she had misspent with interest. Eventually, she earned enough to provide adequate food and medical insurance for her entire family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A major turning point was when Fiona bought a goat. With a smile, Fiona noted that this particular purchase gave her a rush of confidence. She began to walk more proudly through her community, feeling smart, strong, and capable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rearing livestock amplified Fiona\u2019s earning potential. She reintegrated her siblings into school and purchased materials to build a house. <\/span>The entire empowerment group worked together to help Fiona construct a new home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWitnessing my empowerment group come together to build my home filled me with love and worthiness,\u201d Fiona said.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, Fiona operates a third business weaving shopping bags. A skill she learned through a vocational training program provided by Zoe. Fiona recently helped her sister start a business selling sweet potatoes. Now, they both can provide for the family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though her mother\u2019s spirit fueled perseverance, Fiona still mourns her loss. She often wishes to share her accomplishments with her\u2014show her the goats, chickens, and gardens, the house where her siblings are happy and healthy. This is their life now. Thanks to Zoe, Fiona\u2019s painful past has become a memory. A dark cloud that lifted, parting its seams to let the sun shine through.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Days before Fiona\u2019s mother passed away, she made one last request of her eldest daughter: take care of her three younger siblings. Despite being thirteen and still a child herself, Fiona promised her mother she would honor this request.\u00a0 Shortly after her mother\u2019s death, Moussa, Fiona\u2019s seven-month-old brother, had a seizure. The episode scared Fiona […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":218399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"country":[],"yst_prominent_words":[239,694,278,120,144,1773,257,126,1633],"class_list":["post-218398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218470,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218398\/revisions\/218470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218398"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=218398"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=218398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}