I’m Zerin, and I’m now twelve. We ran for our lives when I was one year old. I live in this camp now with my family. When I was small, my father began treating us very badly. He used to hit me, and my brother, and mother a lot. I did not enjoy my childhood like other kids, because I only remember what my father did to us. Finally, he left and never came back. We haven’t seen him in many years now.

Before I came to the Heroes Journey, I was experiencing great sadness in my heart and mind. My mother and I used to cry every night before bed, as we could not forget all the terrible things he did to us. I was just so sad, so I was always forgetting regular things, like where I was going, or what I was supposed to do.

When I came to the program, I learned about hope. Something changed inside me, telling me that my life will be changed! When I returned home, I told my mother , “Please don’t cry, because I have hope for our lives now!” When I started thinking about the things I am grateful for, it changed the way I think about my life. I have started to be thankful for everything; my mother, my brother, our small house in this camp, our health, and for God for protecting us.

These things make me hopeful. Now, I do not cry at night, and even my memory has improved! I don’t forget things like before. I’m thankful for this program, because it has attached me to hope.

Because of the generosity of people like you, children like Zerin have learned how to be grateful, and how to find hope for their futures. BUT there are thousands of people with stories that are yet to end with hope. Help Tutapona provide that hope and healing by donating today.

*Name has been changed to protect the individual and family.