"I received counseling to learn to process the trauma I had experienced and move on."

My name is Patricia and this is my story. I was born and raised in Nigeria, but in 1994, when I was just 16, I was trafficked to Europe. I was taken to Italy where I stayed until 2011. I decided to move to the Netherlands to find good medical care for my child who was suffering from cancer. In 2014, I met a church pastor who introduced me, and several other women who were in a similar situation as me, to Foundation TheBridge2Hope (TB2H). Six women, along with me, joined TB2H. We were the first cohort of participants.

When I came to TheBridge2Hope , I had no house, no job, no papers, and I was very frustrated with the situation I was in. At TB2H, I received a lot of help and support. I received counseling to learn to process the trauma I had experienced and move on. Mr. Peter Korst taught me how to speak and write Dutch, I learned computer skills and even fun things like knitting. TB2H helped me tremendously in those first days to find the courage to go on and build a good life for myself and my son. My son was quite young and it was difficult to support him. It is difficult to find work when you have no papers, but with TB2H's help I was able to get my residence permit. I had to hire a legal advisor to get my papers through the court and TheBridge2Hope helped pay for that. I could rely on the people who were behind me, people who would help and support me no matter what. Of course, it took me too to get where I am today.

Now I have my own home, a steady job and soon I will get my Dutch passport. My son is doing a college education and is doing well. I want to share my story so that people who are in a similar situation as me know that there is hope, that it is possible to change your life, that there is a bridge to hope. You just have to get up there and keep moving forward step by step.