Haza* was 14 years old and in her final year of primary school in Uganda. It was almost time for her exit examinations, but her parents wouldn’t allow her to take them. One day, a 24-year-old man came to their home. He had been promised Haza’s hand in marriage.

"I was [14 years old] when a 24-year-old man came to our home and requested my father to give me a hand in marriage. I didn’t know my worth, my values, or the world outside our home," Haza recalls.

Her father said the man would pay for her education, that he would support her, and that she would live a happy and comfortable life. For many girls, the promise of education and care is a rare dream. But as married life began, Haza found none of those promises to be true.

"When I reached my husband’s home, the story changed," she says. "I was confined to the house. He used to provide food and other basic needs, but he took away all my freedom."

Soon, Haza’s reality got even worse.

"He hid his true identity from me," Haza continues. "He would go away for a good time and come back … I didn’t know that he was a terrorist."

As Haza began to realize her husband was part of a terrorist rebel group, she learned that her own father was involved as well. Her marriage hadn’t been for her well-being—it had been a way to pull her into the group’s ranks. Her father began indoctrinating her. He instructed her to harden her heart and trust no one but him. He forced her to swear loyalty through a ritual covenant. Soon, the rebel forces saw her as one of their own.

For five years, Haza was exploited by the terrorist group. She lived in deep distrust of everyone.

Last year, Ugandan military intelligence found Haza and referred her to an Atlas Free Network Member for urgent support. She was in immediate need of safety, food, medical care, and counseling. The abuse had left her with hallucinations and painful ulcers. Deeply traumatized, Haza refused to eat or sleep. She didn’t trust anyone around her.

"With all the disappointments from different people," Haza says, "I lost trust in everyone because even my own people, who I trusted, misled me."

Atlas Free Network Member staff brought Haza to a hospital for urgent treatment. At their safe home, she began receiving trauma-informed counseling. She was surrounded by a community of girls like her. At night, she slept safely in her own bed, free from threats and control. She had hot meals and clean water to nourish and refresh her. For the first time, Haza was home. Slowly, she began to open up to her counselor. She began to tell her story.

Today, Haza is a student of a program that equips trafficking survivors with life skills and career training in a safe, nurturing space.

"I was empowered with economic skills, soft skills, and trained in catering services—and I have developed meaningful values for myself," Haza says.

Now dreaming of starting her own business, Haza also hopes to help others stay safe, especially girls in her own community.

“If God still blesses me with life, I will sensitize people in my community. I will make sure I spread information about human trafficking and the different forms of trafficking so that no one is trafficked again.”

"You have opened my eyes to the world," she says of the Atlas Free Network Member. "I feel [they are] a spring of water sprinkling on all my plants. I do not have the best words to describe the everlasting home that [this] has proved to be for me."

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*Name changed to protect the identity of the survivor.