Mary's Story

Here is the story of a client IJM served. Hopefully it will give you a sense of the severity of property grabbing and how it affects women and orphans in particular.

"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows." Isaiah 1:17 (NLV)

Note: The name of this client has been changed to protect her identity.

Mary lived in a shanty compound on the outskirts with her husband. The family was able to pull together a meager living from a couple stalls at the local market place which they owned. Mary and her husband had five children, of whom three perished prior to 2004. In late 2004, Mary’ husband died, leaving her to figure out how to continue to feed and raise their three surviving children.

Following her husband’s death, Mary’s in-laws took control over the market place stalls, cutting off the sole source of income Mary and her children had to survive. Mary was left without any means to provide for her children, and eventually one of them died from malnutrition.

In May 2005, Mary learned about IJM from the local YWCA. She came to the office wearing a well-worn set of clothing, which we would soon learn was her only set of clothing. Every time she came into the office, she wore a dejected look on her face along with her black t-shirt and chitenge cloth dress. After Mary told her story to an IJM attorney, the offending relative was summoned to a meeting. The law was explained to him, and he recognized that his actions had been illegal. He promised to return the market stalls to Mary. Once he left the office, however, Mary’s relative reneged on his promise, again taking away her hope for her the restoration of her meager income.

An IJM attorney visited Mary’s home one day, only to have his heart broken by what he saw. A small stack of cold coals sat in the fireplace, not having been lit for days. One of Mary’s children suffered from such devastating malnourishment that he could no longer walk. This family was suffering.

After learning about the broken promise of Mary’s relative and his intent to not return her property, IJM brought the power of the law to bear on her situation. On September 27th, about four months after Mary first walked into the IJM office, a court order was signed to compel the market stalls to be returned under the protection of the law, securing an income to provide for her surviving children. The dejected look that used to adorn Mary’s face had now become a wide, beaming smile. This mother had succeeded in her case and now could provide for her children.