“Laura” from Eritrea

"My Kids and This Handkerchief Are My Treasures"

 

 

Laura arrived in the UK in 2012, just seventeen years old, carrying nothing but her faith and the weight of a journey that had taken her through so many countries; she recalled that she had ‘lost track of what country she was in’ at points during her escape to the UK. She fled Eritrea because of her Christian beliefs, growing up in a place where freedom—of speech, of worship, of choice—did not exist. Orphaned young, first losing her mother at two, then her father at ten, she was raised by an aunt who eventually handed her over to government agents, promising she would be sent to Canada to reunite with family. Instead, she found herself on a perilous journey, walking for miles and crossing waters.

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By the time she reached the UK, Laura felt overwhelmed, saying ‘I was hungry, lost, isolated, and mentally broken’. Her life here began in a police station, then in social services, where she found the support she desperately needed. She learned English, studied, and completed a diploma in health and social care. But life was not linear. She became a mother, a role that gave her both strength and discipline, yet also forced her to pause her education. She battled through depression, struggled through financial burdens, and at times questioned her purpose. But each time, she refused to stop.

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Now, Laura is working part-time at SRS and a few days ago, she has received a university offer allowing her to continue her undergraduate studies and then move on to her master’s degree. And through it all, she holds onto the only thing she has left from her father: a simple handkerchief, more valuable to her than money. "My kids and this handkerchief are my treasures” she says. And with them, she moves forward, determined to give back and to be the person for others that she once needed herself.