Bane/Bliss

Sitting through two and half hours of the assiduous, one-by-one marching through diplomas, handshakes, announcements and poses – not just once, but two days in a row –  is right up there among my top 10 ideas of personal torture!! And I wish every one of our Tamar’s Hope partners could have been at last weekend’s graduation ceremonies as well.

Not cuz I hate you. Cuz it was so unbelievably worth every minute of it to witness K, G, A, B, R, and A, six of our TH bursary students, also cross that stage as new auxiliary nursing graduates and well on their way to a whole new kind of life they had never even imagined was possible!!

They will tell you that for them too, it’s ALL been worth it. Facing the fears, the work, the family challenges, the self doubt, the difficult relationships, the shaming, the tears. They now have such a confident hope their tomorrows will not be like their yesterdays.

We and they are so very grateful to all of you who also believe that prostitutes really do matter and have lent your hands and hearts and resources to show it so to these dear women over the past eight years of being part of their stories of regaining dignity and wholeness.

Oh, and I’s story as well! Also a former La Linea worker and bursary recipient. She was one of the nursing instructors capping the graduates as they marched through the gauntlet on stage. How cool is that?!!

Now we can’t wait for the next round of graduates in a few months time! Really. We just have so many ladies to celebrate and be all kinds of proud of!