10 Oct 2025
From isolation and abuse to building her family home: Darlei…
“My name is Thuraia , 23 years old and I live in a small village near Kadugli, in South Kordofan. I am a single mother of five children, and for years, I was the only one responsible for providing for them.”
Thuraia’s life has been shaped by both displacement and social stigma. After being displaced from her original area, in 2011 due to war and hunger, her family struggled to rebuild their lives in Kadugli. They had once depended on farming, herding, and charcoal production, but conflict stripped them of everything.
When she was only fifteen years old, while working as a domestic helper to support her family, Thuraia was sexually exploited and became pregnant with her first child. Her family, unable to cope with the situation, expelled her from their home — a painful reflection of the social stigma that surrounds young, unmarried mothers in many traditional communities.
“I faced violence, humiliation, and rejection,” she recalls. “At one point, I lost my mind completely. I would walk the streets in distress, not knowing where to go.”
Her mother, who stood by her, also suffered social and emotional pressure and later passed away due to illness and neglect. Left alone, with no income and five children to care for, Thuraia struggled with psychological trauma and unsafe living conditions.
Her turning point came when she was identified by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) protection team, who provided individual psychological support, safe shelter, and medical assistance.
“The counseling sessions and the treatment I received changed everything,” Thuraia says. “Little by little, I started to recover. I began to see hope again. Today, I can take care of my children, and I feel proud of the woman I have become.”
Through DRC’s psychosocial support (PSS) and community protection activities in South Kordofan, many women and men facing similar risks have received help. DRC continues to work with community-based protection networks to identify protection risks, raise awareness, and provide safe spaces for recovery.
Thuraia now dreams of continuing her education — and one day becoming a doctor.
“I was once one of the top students in my school,” she says with a smile. “Life took me through pain and loss, but I learned to stand again. My dream to study medicine is still alive — for myself, and for my children.”
For Mental Health Day, this story reminds us that recovery is possible when care, dignity, and support come together — and that behind every statistic, there’s a human story of courage and survival.