Dante: “I have hope in life because I have a skill which enables me to earn money.”

Dante is the second born of 8 siblings. He lived with his parents in a semi-permanent house with five rooms and a small compound. Dante´s mother worked in a flower farm while his father was a mason. They were unable to provide basic and secondary needs for their large family.  Proper nutrition was a huge challenge since the children could only eat what was available. Dante was always in and out of school due to lack of school fees and this drastically affected his performance. 

Dante had a difficult time studying since he depended on candles for lighting the house. He scored 213 marks in his primary education exams and D minus in his secondary education exams. He was unable to proceed further as life was getting more difficult and he had no choice but to look for employment.

After Dante completed high school in 2020, life was more challenging and he felt the need to look for a job to support his family and make ends meet. Since he had no skills, the jobs at his disposal were limited. In 2021, he managed to get a job as a caretaker, working for an aged businesswoman. His job entailed cleaning the home compound, keeping the house clean and preparing food. The woman opted to pay Dante for his labour by giving him foodstuffs, clothing, and a room to sleep in. Unfortunately, she took advantage of Dante´s innocence and exploited him sexually. Dante could not talk to his parents or report to anyone since the businesswoman provided him with everything. “I didn’t have hope, nor a future for my life,” Dante said sadly. 

Luckily, Dante was identified by a community health volunteer in January 2023 and he was introduced to the Training and Employment for Children and Youth at Risk of sexual exploitation project, implemented by K-NOTE and TdH NL. Thereafter, his journey to a new life began. After a rigorous recruitment process that took place in January to early February 2023, Dante was successfully admitted to a polytechnic to study plumbing for six months (beginning mid February to August 2023). In addition to that, he received training on life skills, entrepreneurship and reproductive health training. “ I am happy because I didn’t know I would get someone to help but I got TdH and K-NOTE to support,” Dante expressed his joy.  

The trainings Dante received were impactful to his life. He now believes in himself, and his abilities and he can express himself better without fear. “I will be able to depend on myself,” he said. Dante currently lives in a one-room rented house with his brothers. The room has electricity, water and bathrooms. With his plumbing skills, he gets casual jobs in his area and earns 2.6 euros per week. He uses the money to pay for rent, buy food and support his parents from time to time. 

Currently, Dante wakes up at 6:00 am and prepares himself to go to the polytechnic. Whenever he does not have a class, he does plumbing jobs in his area. In his leisure time, he loves spending time with nature. “I like Nature walks, swimming and music. These three things refresh me.” He explained

After completion of his training in August, Dante proceeded for attachment which is going to run upto December 2023.Through regular follow-ups by the project staff, Dante is able to share his progress, experiences gained and the challenges he faces and he receives the necessary support.