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I am 28 years old, firstborn in a family of 5~ By Joyce

It all started when I was sexually abused when I was 11 years old

I am 28 years old and the firstborn in a family of 5. My life has always been a mystery. It started when I was 11 years old when my late uncle sexually abused me. My…

Between Village and City Life~ By Joy

My name is Joy. I am a Nigerian woman, the second of five children. My family lived in the city and came from a lower-class. While my parents and siblings stayed in the city, I was raised by my grandmother in the village.

Growing up in the village, life was…

Meet Valencia, An Advocate For Climate Change From Zambia

My name is Valencia, and I’m an advocate for climate change from Lusaka, Zambia. In 2024, my family faced financial struggles that forced us to move to a shanty compound. It was during this time that a severe drought hit, and I witnessed firsthand how my community suffered. People…

A Lady’s Dreary Dream

A Lady’s Dreary Dream
And there she was,
remorseful holding in what she couldn’t reveal.
She sat on a curb in a field of daffodils,
reminiscing his louche creepy charm.

The old man sat playing his golden saxophone mellifluous by the rill.
Her lotus dress reminded her of the nights they’d dance
And chance under the…

The Sinner’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,
hear my weeping prayer.

I am a rotten apple,
a bad element,
of the holy and sacred equation.

Unloved,
unworthy,
undeserved, I am,

because of me planting demonic seeds,
and watering them,
in my lifeless and dead spiritual garden.

I saw unholy statutes,
that enticed me,
and I took a sip of sins,
and bad deeds.

In my time of deep darkness,
I…

My Name Is Magdalyne, And This Is My Story

Mama feared the river for what it took; I loved it for what it carried away.

The river knows my name. It has whispered it since I was a child, its voice curling through the reeds, dancing over the rocks, and sinking into the depths where secrets sleep. The current…

There’s a World Elsewhere

It seemed like it the other noon,
Heat’d by the sun,
Slapp’d by the winds.
The ocean,
A few flirts.

From suns to heatwaves,
Waves to winds,
Winds to evolution of creations,
Nothing against time can make a difference.

Pluck’d, out of place,
The conceited, boring acquaintances
As the sides of a two-day rose flower,
Growth and death,
All in none.

How do…

Midnight Thought – By Dativa Mugashe

Many believe knowledge is power, but it might be according to someone’s situation. When studying, knowledge becomes a sense of fulfilment; it brings hope and enlightenment in relationships and pursues dreams regarding careers, while it might be scary when applied to understanding self-identity and personality. As I learn and…

A Daughter’s Silent Pain: Growing Up in the Shadows of Cultural Expectations

I was 12 when my world crumbled. It happened suddenly, without warning, like a storm that had been gathering silently in the distance. My father married a second wife, and my mother, his partner of so many years, found out about it the same way I did—when my father…