After 20 years of suffering domestic abuse, Valerie* left home without any belongings but burdened with the belief that she was good at nothing.

“I was unemployed and felt worthless. My former husband would often challenge me: where are you going to get the money from to survive without me?” she recounted.

Her reality changed, however, when she stumbled across a group of women in similar circumstances to her – and who were starting a social enterprise aimed at opening the door to gainful employment.

“I realised I was living a lie,” Valerie said. “Only now am I finding out what my strengths are,” she said ahead of the launch of the social enterprise Meraki.

Meraki will be hosted in a hub run by domestic violence survivors at a townhouse in Tarxien which is being refurbished. The first of its kind in Malta, the hub is an initiative of the SOAR service, which is provided by the Jeanne Antide Foundation.

Valerie is one of the first women to start benefitting from the start-up. 

She said she never really knew that she was being abused – she had been brought up in a “dysfunctional family and an abusive environment”. She felt like the scapegoat child, where her feelings were never validated, and she thought she was escaping abuse when she married her husband. He turned out to be just like her parents.

“Since that was the only kind of love I knew, I believed that that was my cross to carry and that I didn’t deserve to be loved in any other way,” she said.

Only now am I finding out what my strengths are

His continuous psychological abuse made her feel worthless and full of shame. And as the abuse was mostly emotional, it was hard to quantify or prove, so she always felt that no one would understand her. She resorted to being submissive because she thought he sounded more credible than she did. 

However, over the years her mental state started leading to physical ailments. 

Valerie made her move the moment she realised how much her two children were suffering. She realised that history was repeating itself and it was her responsibility to provide them with mental stability and a safer environment. 

“I had remained with him as I was brought up with the mentality that I should keep the family together and that when I seek support I would not be believed.”

Instead, when she sought help she received validation. As the months rolled by she started to realise that the traits he used to put her down for were actually her strengths. For some time, she experienced withdrawal symptoms: she describes the abuse as a “rollercoaster addiction”.

“You literally get trapped, it’s a vicious circle. Just like drug victims, a domestic abuse victim could suffer highs and lows, often feeling depressed and helpless. 

“The abuse continues after you leave, but I’m recovering and healing slowly and the children are flourishing as well.”

She has found a family in SOAR, and Meraki is slowly unravelling the damage of years of constant abuse that made her believe she was not good at much.

She believes that Meraki’s flexible work opportunity and her own new worldview will open doors for her personal growth. 

*name has been changed.

Survivors are already getting hands-on sales and marketing experience. Photo:  Soar Malta

Putting your spirit in your work – Meraki

Gearing up for the launch of the social enterprise later this year, the women are currently receiving mentoring to prepare a robust business plan. 

Current training is focusing on management, with mentoring in computer literacy, marketing, administration, customer care and book-keeping in the pipeline. 

Survivors are already getting hands-on sales and marketing experience during wedding fairs and open-air markets. So far, the women have been trained in manufacturing bath and body cosmetics, wax products and party favours. 

The proceeds are reinvested in the enterprise and in SOAR, meaning that customers who choose Meraki for wedding favours, party souvenirs or corporate gifts are supporting the economic independence of the survivors who make them, Elaine Compagno, who leads SOAR, explained. 

Choosing to support Meraki could help companies fulfil their Corporate Social Responsibility targets. 

It would also support the sustainability of SOAR, a service by and for female survivors, ensuring that it can continue providing support to survivors for free.

Meraki won the ENISIE National Social Innovation Award when it was proposed as a solution for flexible and supported jobs that enable survivors to enter the labour market. 

It was awarded with 40 hours of mentoring and access to an innovation hub.

It was also shortlisted for the Malta Social Impact Awards, which is offering another 12 hours of mentoring. 

Look up the Facebook page called Meraki – The Home of Kind Krafts, Instagram handle@soarsurvivorshub or call on 2180 9011, 2180 8981 or 2767 2367 for more information.