At Rising Above the Storms, we have seen our children impacted by family issues, violence, or even an identity crisis. Since the age of nine years old Abijuru Line, now 14, has come to our Center because of such factors. As a street child, he faced critical conditions such as using drugs, theft, and intra-group violence. Recognizing his circumstances, he accepted our invitation to attend counseling with the goal to experience a social and emotional transformation.

As a part of our process to rehabilitate Line after just two months our team met with his family to identify what pushed him onto the street in the first place and what triggers would potentially pull him back. By doing so, we were able to successfully reintegrate him with his family and school.

Line’s success did not come without struggle. During this time, his father left the family leaving his mother to struggle to provide basic needs alone. His mother would then turn to unhealthy activities. The Center intervened by providing family counseling. Line was able to resume his primary school classes, sat for his primary six (6th grade) national exam, and graduated among the top in the country. He is now in senior school one (7th grade). He does well in his academics and is among the best football (soccer) players on the team. We continue to work with Line in group counseling and keep a close eye on how we can develop his talents. More importantly, we continue to see a positive change in his behavior, and he dreams of continuing his education and like many of our kids, wishes to be the best soccer player in the world.

Read more success stories and learn about our organization’s impact in our 2020 Annual Report.