Many of you will be aware of the Theresia William story, but will not know the full details. Her story is a truly remarkable one, and recognises what can be achieved through sheer willpower and determination, when everything is stacked up against you.

Theresia started Kipok Girls Secondary Boarding School in January 2010, and this prevented her from being married off by her parents to an older man. She completed her first year in December 2011, but in the middle of 2012 she stopped attending school. Because her family lived 70 Km. from Meserani, it took some time to find out what had happened. According to her neighbours she was pregnant, and her family had taken her away. Her sponsors, the Heward family, were given the bad news just before Christmas. However, whilst we were actually at Meserani in January 2013 our ‘Key Worker’ Loth Naparana took a telephone call from Theresia, and a remarkable story unfurled.

What had actually happened to Theresia last summer was that her father had forced her to marry a man in his fifties, (Theresia was sixteen at the time). This man lived 150 Km. from Theresia’s home, and over the past few months she had tried on many occasions to run away and find her way back home. On each occasion she did not get very far, and was taken back to her husband. However, in January she had actually managed to walk the 150 Km., from village to village, back to her mother, where she was hidden for a week. Unfortunately for Theresia her mother planned to return her to her husband at the end of the week, and Theresia’s incredible efforts and resilience appeared to have all been in vain. Her opportunity to be rescued came when an aunt sent Theresia to a local kiosk to top up a mobile ‘phone with some credit. Theresia put the credit on the ‘phone, but then telephoned Loth at Meserani literally crying out for help. Loth was actually with us in the Monduli mountains at the time, so Theresia had to walk another 70 Km. to meet us the next day.

A meeting was held with local councillors in order to satisfy any legal issues, and they agreed to allow us to take Theresia back to Kipok Boarding School. They also stipulated that she was not allowed to go back to her parents during the school holidays, so we made arrangements for her to stay at the Meserani Orphanage at these times.

 

 

 

The next day Diane had to take Theresia to Monduli Hospital for HIV, Malaria and Pregnancy Tests (all proved negative), and then she had to take her shopping for all the basic essentials and necessities that she no longer had.

One day later she returned to school, and a warm reception from her former teachers and classmates was arranged.

The next task was to break the good news to her sponsors – a heart-warming task indeed!