Sophonie J. Victor participated in the YWCA Haiti's vocational training program and subsequently completed an education in accounting. Since December 2020, she has been working in a vocational school in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. She is also the CEO/Founder of two emerging start-ups that are gradually growing.

She has previously had the opportunity to participate in YWCA-Haiti seminars for girls and young women. The various workshops were geared towards boosting the participants' self-confidence, increasing their self-esteem, and most importantly, paving the way to self-love and financial independence. Since then, Sophonie has come to believe more in her strengths and abilities, in her own potential, and in the efficient use of all her intellectual capacities. As a result, Sophonie founded Sophie Decor, which is now called Sophie Event Design and is her own event planning company.

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"My name is Jary Lujan and I am 16 years old. When I came across the Paza la Paz project, I was struggling with depression and anxiety. The psychosocial support that I received thanks to the project helped me a lot to strengthen my self-esteem. Over time, I noticed that I became more resilient and better able to cope with life's daily challenges. I used my experience with psychological problems and became the contact person for emotional support within my youth group. The Paza la Paz project brought me new joy in life and new friends, with whom I spend almost all my free time. Together we organize different artistic and cultural activities for peace and coexistence in our community. For me, Paza la Paz is happiness, laughter, humor, art, youth and love."

Amal Abu Ahour lives with her family of seven in Bethlehem on the West Bank. The young woman suffers from progeroid syndrome, a physical impairment that causes the body to age faster and makes those affected appear older than they are. In her daily life, in addition to medical complaints, she experienced stigmatization in society due to her impairment and became increasingly isolated at home. This had a negative impact on her mental health. The fragile economic situation of the household further aggravated her situation and Amal was unable to continue her university studies.

With this background, she was admitted to the YMCA's rehabilitation program. The psychosocial counselor developed a tailored intervention plan that provided Amal with intensive psychosocial counseling. The sessions helped Amal strengthen her self-esteem and improve family relationships. Amal also received medical help. Physical therapy alleviated her pain and a medical device for her back supports her spine.

Today, after successfully completing the rehabilitation program's vocational training, Amal runs her own cosmetics business.

15-year-old Ngbarago Samuel lives with her mother, father and siblings in Yambio, South Sudan. She is a member of the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA). "I joined the YWCA health club because they offer us so much. They teach us a lot. I learned that pregnancy at a young age is very bad. As a young mother, there is a big chance that either the mother or the child will die. YWCA also made us understand that it is not good to get married before the age of 18 because we are not able to take care of a family. Now that I am in the club, I can make better decisions in my life to live a responsible life. I wish I had always had this information, then maybe I would have made the right decision."

The 15-year-old was also educated by YWCA about her health and education. For example, she learned how best to maintain her hygiene during her period and was given reusable pads that are otherwise expensive to buy.
After the death of her child, she returned to school, where she had not been for a year before. One day she would like to become a doctor.

Aber Mercy is an 18 year old young woman from South Sudan whose family came to the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in 2016 as a result of the outbreak of war. She is a beneficiary of the YGlobal “Let Girls Talk” Safe Space Initiative and recently benefited from distribution of sanitary pads, underwear and washing soap to help improve her menstrual health hygiene and management under the Together for Peace and Justice Project in partnership with Horyzon. This is what she had to say about her experience of being part of the “Let Girls Talk” Initiative:

“Let Girls Talk Space is a life changing experience that has enabled me as a girl talk about issues that adults don’t openly talk about to us because of our culture, like adolescence, boy girl relations, early marriage, sex, periods, personal cleanliness, life choices and even abortion, after all “prevention is better than cure”. Because of YGlobal, I am a confident girl and have no fear speaking in front of others. I know one day I will realize my dream of also being a mentor to other young girls and women so that we can all be strong and bold and achieve anything we set our minds to do.”