We love sharing stories of the women who, as part of a skills-training program, sew together Punjammies. The Sudara Stories series highlights a few of these strong, amazing women. Today, we are honored to introduce Ela.
Ela’s Story of Hope and Freedom
Ela’s mother made a living as a commercial sex worker and frequently moved from one place to another. Eventually, both of Ela’s parents died from complications due to HIV/AIDS. After her mother’s death, the pimps who controlled her mother came after Ela to work for them as well. Through a trafficking awareness campaign led by our partner centers, Ela found out about their employable job skills training programs.
Ela enrolled and completed her Computer and Spoken English courses. She is now employed as an office executive. She says before joining our partner centers she struggled with low self-esteem and felt totally alone in the world, without love or acceptance in her life. She also felt unable to achieve anything of importance. After going through the skills training program, she gained confidence and the knowledge that she was capable of meeting her goals. She says, “I am what I am today because of the love and encouragement that I received at the center.”
Thank you for investing in and empowering women like Ela to create a new life for herself. You can read more Sudara Stories here. And, find the Punjammies we named in honor and celebration of Ela here.