Publications

Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page

CASE STUDY: DÉLA N., AGE FOURTEEN

Déla N. is from a small village in Togo not far from the border of Benin. Her mother is a farmer, and she has not seen her father since her parents divorced many years ago. She has never been to school.

When she was eight years old, Déla was invited by an aunt to go live in Nigeria. Her aunt told her she would be staying with her and helping around the house. Her mother said she should go.

Déla stayed with her aunt for six years, doing housework and helping her aunt in the market. She prepared food for her aunt's children, cleaned the house and helped her aunt sell merchandise in the market. She was not allowed to play with the children.

After a short time, Déla's aunt returned to Togo and then came back to Nigeria with some other girls. The other girls were all older than Déla and could do work that she couldn't. Her aunt became impatient with her and starting beating her. She shouted at her that she was lazy, and sometimes she beat her with a stick. When the other girls got money for their work, Déla didn't get anything.

One day, after coming home from the market, Déla was caught playing with her aunt's children. Her aunt became furious and started beating her badly. That day Déla decided to steal 800 naira (U.S.$7) from her aunt and run away.

On the street, an older man asked Déla where she was going and whether he could help. He gave her 2,000 CFA (U.S.$3), which she used to take a lorry to the border of Benin and Togo. At the border, Déla met another man making tea on the roadside. The man invited her to stay with him for a day and said he would take her back to her village. She stayed with him for two days, but he still didn't take her back. After being pressured by others, the man eventually brought her to the police.

Déla is now staying at the Oasis Center, a shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children in Lomé. The staff of the Oasis Center are providing her with psychological counseling and trying to locate her mother.

Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page