In Need Home Talk 03 We interviewed Aluso Gloria and this is what she explained about her Journey through In Need Home.
Aluso Gloria: After 14 years at In Need Home, I am on my way to becoming an electrical engineer
When did you first join In Need Home?
My name is Aluso Gloria. I joined In Need Home when I was only six years old in 2008. I grew up in a family of seven children, but only two of my siblings attended school, and the rest of us did not because my parents could not afford to keep all of us in school while also meeting other household expenses.
What was your situation like prior to joining INH?
I was young when I joined INH, but I remember my mother making Malwa (local brew) and my father riding his motorcycle. Both of my parents drank alcohol, but my father was never at home, and on the days he was, there was violence in the house due to the numerous disagreements that would arise at the same time. Because our family was large and our expenses were high, we would go without food for a few days.
How did you feel when you first joined INH?
Mama Upendo, one of In Need Home’s volunteers, came home to ask my mother for my elder sister to go and help her with her house chores; she found us home during the school day. She informed my mother about an organisation that could assist her with us. My mother took my sister and me to In Need Home the next day. When I entered the gate, I felt different because I saw other children who I had seen in the slum, and I was overjoyed because I knew I would be in school with them. I remember telling my mother that we would find our way back home in the evening if she left us behind. As a result of that day, our lives changed forever.
What happened after joining INH?
Our lives were completely transformed after we joined In Need Home. We started school with my sister, and we started eating on time because my sister used to have chronic stomach pains, which went away after a few months.
My father returned home after a few weeks, and my mother told him that we were going to school. My father was overjoyed, and the days he was away from home were reduced, as was the fighting. I began to study reading and writing. I first used a toilet and toilet paper at the In Need Home. At home, we used to relieve ourselves in the drainage in front of our house. We learned a lot of morals while at the In Need Home. I am grateful to In Need Home for shaping me into the person I am today.
What are your plans now that you have graduated?
In September 2023, I was awarded a certificate in electrical installation and maintenance. In Need Home continues to support me, so I plan to enrol in a university and pursue a diploma in the same field. After completing my education, I hope to support other children in the slum as a way of giving back to my community and the In Need Home at large