by Becky, an Alliance worker serving in West Africa

Tenain was born out of wedlock to her 15-year-old mother. To hide the family’s shame, she was given away to a distant relative. She was not sent to school or given the same privileges as other children in the home. As she grew, she began to take on most of the work around the home.

When Tenain’s relative took a second wife, her workload doubled, and the sister-wives began to fight over her. She was only 14 years old and had grown increasingly unsafe and uncomfortable as a young teen in a home without parental guardians.

Aissa, Tenain’s mother, never got past the stigma of having a child out of wedlock and had been ostracized by most of her family. She eventually moved to the neighboring country of Senegal but stayed in touch with her daughter, always making sure Tenain had her current phone number.

Escaping to Senegal

When things became progressively worse for Tenain, she felt she had no other option but to run away and make the 839-mile trip to find her mother. The plan seemed possible until she got to the Senegalese border.

Lacking the appropriate paperwork, Tenain was kicked off her bus and denied entry into Senegal. Officials told her the only option was to return to the home she had fled.

Tenain was terrified to go back. The man she worked for was violent, and she feared how he would react her attempt to leave his household. As night was falling, a man recognized Tenain’s distress and offered to help. Sensing she had no other choice, Tenain went with him.

What followed were days of terror, much of which Tenain has never been fully able to share. The man didn’t get her the paperwork he’d promised to obtain. Instead, after three days, he smuggled her across the border and left her to navigate the rest of the journey on her own.

Responding to a Brutal Reality

Tenain’s story reflects the brutal reality for countless adolescent girls across West Africa, whose lives are marked by hardship, injustice, and trauma. In this region, being a girl often means facing overwhelming challenges. Research shows that, when it comes to education, child marriage, adolescent fertility, justice, security, and inclusion, the most difficult places to be a girl are concentrated in West Africa.

That’s why, in 2013, with the prayers and support of the Alliance family, we launched Hands of Honor (HOH), a church-based advocacy program committed to providing girls in our communities with a different, hope-filled path. HOH works with local Alliance churches and partners to provide vulnerable girls—primarily child laborers—with safe community, literacy education, vocational training, and life skills training.

Today, there are over 150 participants in the Hands of Honor program. Your generous gifts continue to provide girls like Tenain with the opportunity for a better life—all while expanding the program into other parts of West Africa.

In Senegal, HOH is making a growing impact through La Grace, a Christian vocational school. Its strong reputation in the community has led to full classrooms and increased attendance. Every year, through your generosity and prayers, vulnerable adolescent girls learn valuable culinary and hospitality skills in a Christian centered environment where they have the change to hear and respond to the gospel. They are becoming valuable contributors to their families and community and being strengthened to change the trajectory of their lives.

In a nearby West African country, HOH has grown from eight participants in one location to 116 participants in six locations. Increasing economic challenges, violence, and political instability have only increased the vulnerability of adolescent girls across the country and the need for more intervention by our HOH staff.

The Gospel Impact You Are Making

For many participants, HOH is the first place they encounter a follower of Jesus and hear and understand His gospel that brings salvation and freedom.

Sarah* recently completed the three-year HOH program, receiving her tailoring license and a sewing machine to start her own business. At the graduation ceremony, she shared that the greatest gift wasn’t the sewing machine but the Christian teaching she had received since becoming involved with HOH. She’s not alone. In 2024, participants overwhelmingly reported that Bible storying was the most impactful part of the program for them as well.

That’s been Tenain’s story. When Jesus led her to our HOH program—facilitated in a slum community in Dakar, Senegal—she was deeply traumatized, anxious, and disheartened. We had begun a new story set focused on the lives of women who had encounters with Jesus. As she listened, I noticed a change in Tenain. I could tell she saw herself as teh women in those stories. She recognized Jesus’ care and compassion, the value and worth He placed on these women, and the grace and mercy He extended to them.

Tenain, a child who’d been abandoned, neglected, and never felt any value to her family and community, began to recognize her worth as a child of God. She began to experience hope again as she understood Jesus as her Savior, as the Healer of the wounds she carried. Today, Tenain is leterate, a vocational school graduate, and small business owner.

Tenain’s story is possible only because of people like you. The work is far from finished, however. Across West Africa, many more adolescent girls like her remain unseen and undervalued, facing injustices that demand action. The opportunity is before us to step into their stories, offer a hope-filled future, and guide them toward the purpose, healing, and compassion they can experience only in Jesus.

Teach Job Skills to Girls in Struggling Communities

Through your giving to the Hands of Honor, you will provide literacy education, vocational training, and life skills training to girls like Tenain in two West African countries. As these girls are empowered with new skills in Christ-centered learning environments, they will be uniquely positioned to experience God’s compassion and receive guidance from His Word. To open doors for vulnerable West African girls to gain financial independence and realize their God-given worth and dignity, click here. Learn more about Alliance strategic projects throughout the world in need of your prayers and financial support by accessing the 2025–2026 Strategic Giving Opportunities Gift Catalog here or by calling toll-free (866) 443-8262.

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