Sara's Story

An example of the holistic services provided to young mothers through the UCYD Young Mothers Psychosocial Program is the case of the 16-year-old Eritrean girl, Sara: Sara left Eritrea, fleeing from the forced military conscription. During her stay in Sudan, she became pregnant from her boyfriend. In 2021, she was kidnapped by unknown people and was trafficked to Aswan. She was kept hostage for two months and subjected to rape while being pregnant. Once, she managed to come to Cairo, she approached StARS drop-in clinic for unaccompanied children and youth. She was in her third month of pregnancy. Sara was overwhelmed with her situation and tried to harm herself as she did not know how to cope with the traumatic experience she has been through. Her psychosocial worker noticed her state of distress and referred her to Médecins Sans Frontières for a medical check-up following the sexual violence which she has been exposed to. Her health needs were addressed as a matter of urgency and StARS Medical Access Program also made sure that her unborn baby was not affected by the violence Sara has been through. Being completely new to the country, Sara was struggling with finding a safe and stable accommodation. She did not have any means to cover for her basic needs. Her psychosocial worker linked her with the community to find a safe accommodation and advocated for emergency financial assistance for Sara so she could cover rent and food expenses. Given her heightened vulnerabilities as an unaccompanied child and pregnant girl, StARS flagged her to UNHCR advocating for an urgent registration appointment. Sara was taken under case management with the Young Mothers Psychosocial Program. A caseworker began to follow up on her mental health, provided her with emotional and psychosocial support, and advocated for her to be assisted with monthly food boxes. Her psychosocial caseworker also visited her at her home to check on her living situation. Fortunately, with the help of StARS advocacy, Sara registered with UNHCR and began to receive regular cash assistance from UNHCR’s implementing partner. After safely delivering her baby on 29 December 2021, Sara was referred to legal partner to obtain a birth certificate for her baby. Sara received diapers, baby supplies, and was granted a medical grant to cover her baby’s medical needs. Sara’s psychosocial worker invited her to lactation and breast-feeding awareness session conducted by peer youth assistants who are young mothers themselves, and, as such, very familiar with the challenges young mothers are going through. The sessions helped Sara to acquire the skills to look after herself and her baby, which, in turn, gives her more confidence and assurance in herself as a young mother