Tough Times Never Last but Tough people do!!

Hibo was a little girl who lived with her parents and her six siblings. She is the oldest in her family. She grew up in a beautiful life in Kenya. As everything in life, things didn’t last, and her parents had a disagreement and finally divorced.

Hibo's father, Ahmed, left Kenya and moved to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where he got married and started a new family. He stopped communicating with his children after the divorce. Hibo's mother, Maymun, decided to emigrate to a different country for a better future for her children. Hibo and the younger children were left alone in Kenya. They were neglected and mistreated with the absence of  their parents.

Hibo finally contacted her father and told him that she andher siblings have no one to support them. She and the children moved to Mogadishu and stayed at their father's house. After the children settled in the new house, Saadiya, her stepmother “her father’s new wife” started mistreating them. She often punishes Hibo’s young siblings for misbehaving at her house and sometimes tortures them. Hibo always confronted her stepmother whenever she abused the children and demanded from her to stop mistreating the children. This confrontation always started a fight between Hibo and her stepmother.

Hibo's father, Ahmed could not keep his daughter and his wife together because of their infighting and complaints. Ahmed decided that one of them had to leave the house. He arranged a marriage for Hibo without her knowledge and gave his daughter’s hand to a man.

Hibo's mother finally reached Sweden after a long travel. Sweden has granted her asylum protection and she was allowed to reunite with her children and her husband. Although Ahmed was her Ex-husband, she contacted him and asked him to bring her children to Sweden with him. He agreed and took the children to the nearest Swedish embassy in Ethiopia. Hibo wasn’t part of the plan and was left behind. She couldn’t come with the family to Ethiopia, as she was married and had a family of her own.

Hibo’s life has changed dramatically. After her whole family left her, she settled in a district slum in central regions in a cramped house together with her husband’s family. She gave birth to children and lived a hard life of poverty. Her husband worked in the capital, Mogadishu. He was struggling financially and couldn’t provide for Hibo and her children. Hibo didn’t have any other income to cover her needs and the needs of her children too.

Her husband stayed in the capital for a long time without seeing Hibo and his children. He couldn’t come back to see them due to financial reasons. He was later killed in an explosion in the capital. After learning the death of her husband, Hibo was deeply saddened and contacted her mother.  Her mother promised to help her and asked her to go to Kenya in order to take her to Europe.

When Hibo was in Kenya for 2 months, she met another tragedy. Her mother died in Sweden. The news of her mother’s death came as a devastating blow. Hibo decided not to go back to Somalia and build a life with her children in Kenya. She started a long struggle for a better life. She opened a small business to sell food stuff on the street.

After one year, Hibo managed to grow her business. She opened a restaurant in Eastleigh, Nairobi. The struggle of her life finally paid off . She became a successful businesswoman. She continued to grow her business and opened 3 new restaurants in Nairobi. Hibo finally bought a big house in the South C neighborhood, Nairobi, for her family after years of living with other people in slums.

The breakup of Hibo’s family was the start of her life becoming a struggle. When parents divorce each other, it doesn’t affect them, but it affects their children who grow up with no parents. The parents normally will start a new life and the children are forced to live with stepmothers or stepfathers. Therefore, it’s important that parents always give priority to their children before they decide to divorce each other.

Hibo was forced to marry when she was not ready to marry. She became a young mom who needed to take care and be responsible for her children, when she didn’t have the same care from her parents. This kind forced early marriage damages young girls’ futures and will make their life more difficult and intolerable

Hibo’s life and her struggle for a better life is a lesson for all of us.  She grew up in  a difficult life, where her two parents neglected her and her siblings. She was forced to marry when she was still young, and her family moved to Europe, leaving her and her children behind in Somalia in a poor condition.

However, Hibo never gave up on life. She always had a  hope that one day things will change for the better. She continued to go through a journey of devastating setbacks. The death of her husband and mother was the low point, but Hibo continued the journey, believing that with effort and hard work things will change for the better. In the end, she succeeded and reached her goal destination. Her life teaches us a lesson, that no matter the circumstances, always believe in yourself and never give up.