Born and bred in Zimbabwe, Juliet found herself almost dropping out of school and she contemplated selling sex to help her single mother and 3 siblings make ends meet. After finishing Ordinary level, she failed to advance her education and she did not think there was anything else she could do. In 2018, one of the Out of school club facilitators reached out to Juliet and she was recruited to become a DREAMS beneficiary. Juliet started meeting with other Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) from her community who are part of the DREAMS social asset building club and through active interactions with the other AGYW she discovered that some were school dropouts due to financial constraints and some had failed their Ordinary level courses. Being a self-starter and an intelligent leader, Juliet soon volunteered to help any AGYW in need of Mathematics, English language and Science lessons from her community for free. Because of her enrollment into the DREAMS program Juliet received an educational assistance subsidy and she was able to complete her Advanced level education with excellent passes and this meant that she could proceed to university. Through determination and commitment to her tutoring services, Juliet graduated from the social asset building club to economic strengthening and she received training on Internal Lending and savings and entrepreneurship skills. Using the skills obtained during entrepreneurial skills training, Juliet turned her tutoring services into a business, enabling her to pay her university fees. Her enrollment into DREAMS allowed Juliet to become socially assertive, obtain skills in saving and entrepreneurship inspiring her to pursue her education leading to her enrollment into university, Juliet is now an inspiration to other AGYW and she teaches other AGYW the importance of continuing their education through commitment and resilience. ‘The DREAMS program says you can achieve your dreams’, and Juliet in her own words said, “I realized that it is possible, and life should never be determined by past experiences”.
A DREAMs ambassador leading by example, Juliet has taken upon herself to know her HIV status by getting tested and she is living a healthy lifestyle to protect herself and her loved ones from HIV and other related illnesses. The DREAMS program helped empower Juliet achieve her goals, and she in turn is helping other AGYW protect themselves from HIV, STIs, early and unplanned pregnancies.