At the age of 15, Lilian Achieng was a strong-willed young woman, who contrary to her age mates, did not want any relationships with men from her area. While living with her aunt, a young man visited them looking for a wife. He heard of Lilian’s reputation and was pleased. It took a while for him to woo her. Eventually, she agreed to wed at the age of 15, and immediately they both relocated from Kakamega town to Nairobi, where her new husband worked as a mechanic.

Lilian was hopeful that their partnership would last a lifetime. However, a few years into the marriage, he became physically and emotionally abusive. It was not long after that she discovered his adultery.  By their tenth anniversary, he left her and their three children to marry another woman.

“I was so bitter with him that I vowed only to have boyfriends, but I would never allow them to marry me.”

It was not long after that she found a boyfriend and got pregnant. After delivery, she began having stomach aches that would hinder her from working. With no conclusive answers to her ailment, her doctors resorted to pain management interventions.

One month after she delivered, the baby was unwell. The illnesses would go on for four years until he passed away. “I never understood what happened to him, but I accepted my fate. After the death of our child, I broke up with his father, and so I grieved my child alone.”

While pregnant in 2007, the stomach pains were so severe that Lilian went to the hospital. The doctor decided to test her for HIV as part of the antenatal care, as they investigated how to alleviate the stomach aches. The HIV test was positive.

“The minute I saw the results, I thought of my child who had passed away. Perhaps he was HIV positive, and because we did not know it at the time, we were unable to treat him. To this day, I wonder if he would have been alive if we knew it and gave him the right interventions.”

As a single mother of five, Lillian has struggled to make ends meet for the family. Desperate for assistance, she was referred to the Untold program run in partnership with the Kenya Assemblies of God Church in Huruma.  Lilian’s highlight of the program has been the amount of knowledge and wisdom she has gained during the counseling sessions. Since she learned how to make liquid soap and body lotion in the seminars, she has been buying raw materials and producing large amounts of products in her home. She sells these products and also makes enough for her family to use.

“Liquid soap and lotions are everyday items that I buy for my family. To have the skills to make them for my family while earning an income has been such a blessing in my life,” Lillian added.

The skills have given her the ability to save money she would have otherwise spent on buying soap and lotion for her children. Through the seminar skills, her mind has opened up to endless opportunities to save money. She has extra income that she can now save and invest in other things for her children. The food she receives in the Untold program has enabled her to feed her family of five even when she has no income stream. She is so grateful that she always has food, not just for her family, but even when guests come to her home, Lilian is not ashamed because she has something to offer them.

“Untold has lifted me in more ways than one. I am so excited about the savings group ministry that we are about to start. Untold has equipped me to provide for my family in the days to come. I know with the skills I have gained and a way to save and raise capital, I will give my children a better future.”