Drucila Meireles, pictured here on the right, is a strong woman with an eventful history. As a technical advisor to terre des hommes schweiz in Mozambique, she supports and accompanies the activities of our local partners on sexual violence, empowerment and psycho-social support. Drucila Meireles used to seek help herself in a youth project run by terre des hommes schweiz in Mozambique. Today, she has a particularly good connection with the young people in the projects. She explains why social work with young people is so important to her.
My name is Drucila Meireles. I am 33 years old and I live with my family in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. I have some experience in working with grassroots organizations in the field of social work, which is my path. From 2009 I worked with LeMuSiCa, the partner organization of terre des hommes in the province of Manica. In 2017, I was hired by terre des hommes schweiz as a technical advisor in Mozambique.
My work as a technical consultant
As a technical advisor, I support our partners in Mozambique with best practice methods and tools for implementing their activities. From our office in Maputo daily contact with the people responsible for terre des hommes switzerland in Switzerlandwho give me support.
In Mozambique, I support and advise our partners whenever they need it. need. We plan their activities together. We find the best way to meet the needs in their communities and contexts. Twice a year I visit our local partners and see what they do. I talk with young people and also adultswho are affected by the projectwork benefiten. Regularlyregularlyregularly I receive the statement of accountsour partners’ reports. I read and comment on them, and I also advise them on writing their Applications and reports.
Giving my own life a new chance
It’s no problem for me to talk about my private life to speak. I have three children in total. I have two girls who are now grown up. My first daughter is fourteen years old, my second is ten. They are from a first marriage I had. It was a forced marriage and I experienced a lot of violence, so I got divorced.
I was then for a few years alone with my girlsuntil I met someone three years ago, fell in love again and decided to give myself another chance. And so far it’s been good. I am happy, my husband respects me and we have a son together who is now nine months old. We are a happy family, my husband takes good care of the girls. They know that he is not their biological father.
My childhood and the turning point in my life
As a child, I and my siblings lived with my parents in Zimbabwe. My father came from Chimoio in Mozambique and my mother from Zimbabwe, they both worked in Zimbabwe. Me and my siblings went to Zimbabwe in 2003. Mozambique when I was sixteen years old. Both our parents had died and we were now orphans, so we moved in with my aunt in Chimoio. There I was with nineteen pregnant. My aunt sent me away to my so-called husband – We were not officially married. It was at all not good and then I also hadmy siblings with me.
How I LeMuSica got to know
When I started in 2009 with LeMuSiCa I was still with my first husband when I came into contact with him. I was with LeMuSiCa because I had heard that she was looking for a volunteer in a kindergarten were looking for. At first I didn’t have a permanent position at LeMuSiCabut I did my best anyway. I worked four hours a day as a volunteer and had I also had a small job, because I also had to earn money.
When I saw the good work that LeMuSiCa I fell in love with social work. I thought: Wow, now I understand what I already with my aunt had gone through, even before I got together with my first husband, who treated me badly.e.
As the eldest child, it had been very difficult for me when I had to take over my siblings after the early death of my parents. I had never had the opportunity to experience a place like LeMuSiCa where you can see also orphans help. So when I was there from 2009, I thought: I wish I had known that before!
But it wasn’t too late for me. I now had a place to talk, a place where I could share my experiences with other people, learn about their own experiences and also , how they managed to get up again. Outsalso was LeMuSiCa a safe place for my siblings, they got support for their school and everything else. That’s why I got involved in the work from LeMuSiCa in love.
What I do at LeMuSiCa worked
The kindergarten where I started at LeMuSiCa workedwas also my first job with children. That wasn’t easy, but I learnedto deal with it. Over time I learned other Activities of LeMuSiCa know. I started with an older employee at LeMuSiCa named Cecilia. She showed me how which methods them in the empowerment work with girls and boys apply them.
Suddenly I learned how to do educational work and counseling. What mi r in this kind of social work I particularly like, is that I can other people can helpwho had also been through the same thing as me. That gave me the feeling that I was the best person for the job. n job am, that means more to me than just earning money with it.
Why I am in social work
I can still empathize with the young people empathize with them and vunderstand them, because I similar gone through and and experienced violence. I can empathize with them and that’s why they talk to me. I tell the girls and young young women: I’ve been through things like this too. Sook at me, I’m still here and have my own life and now work for LeMuSiCa. You can do that too!
As a child I always wanted to be anelder become. When I was at LeMuSiCa I thought: Okay, maybe this is what I should do. The socialwork I still love it today, even if it also requires administrative and coordinating work. Whenever I see the office in Maputo and leave our partner organizations in Mozambique and see what is really happening on the groundI am happy.
Interview: Anna Wegelin
