On a warm afternoon in Tanga City, Eliza (not her real name) sits at a wooden table, flipping through a notebook filled with neat handwriting. Around her, the house is calm but lively. She moves easily between rooms helping with chores, greeting others and occasionally laughing with younger children.
“I do not feel inferior at all,” she says quietly. “I feel like that mother is the one who gave birth to me. I live well with her.”
It is a simple statement, but one that reflects a profound shift. Not long ago, Eliza struggled to speak or even smile. Today, she talks about her future with confidence.
“I just want to become a great chef. I want to own big hotels,” she says.
Her journey towards recovery began through a structured intervention under the Pamoja Tuwalinde Project part of the TangaYetu programme and implemented by TAYOTA. The initiative focuses on strengthening prevention and response to violence against children and adolescents through research, capacity building, coordination and community engagement.
