Living in Nigeria, Ada dreamt of a better future for herself and her two daughters. When a family friend offered her the chance of a new start in the UK, she jumped at it. Little did she know that her life would change forever, and she would become one of thousands of African women and girls trafficked to the UK every year.
We know little about Ada’s life in Nigeria and what led her into the hands of traffickers. We understand that one of her brother’s contacts told her that he knew of a rich family in London who needed a housekeeper. Ada was promised a stable job with good wages and somewhere to live.
Ada left Nigeria and flew to the UK with her trafficker. A car met them at the airport and Ada was taken to a house. Her trafficker told her that he had been unable to contact the family she was going to work for, and that Ada was in debt to him. She would have to start working for him straight away. When another man came into the room, Ada realised that she was expected to have sex with him for money. A struggle ensued and Ada managed to escape. Not knowing where to go, Ada came across two women who spoke Nigerian and she was taken to their church.
For the next few years, Ada stayed with church members or slept in the church. At some point, Ada shared her story and was referred to a Medaille Trust safe house for support. After two years, Ada was officially recognised as a victim of modern slavery and with her confidence and independence restored, she left the safe house and moved into asylum accommodation.
Living on her own in a hotel room, in a strange town with no friends or support network, Ada’s mental health quickly deteriorated. She longed to return to London and the support of her church family. Ada reached out to a migrant centre in London for help relocating. In turn, they contacted Ada’s caseworker at the safe house.
Ada became the first client referred to Medaille’s Moving On Project and received support from a dedicated case worker. Together with the Migrant Centre, a successful relocation request was made to the National Asylum Support Service and Ada is now living in London. She is still able to access support from the Moving On Project, however she now feels better with her Church community around her.
