GOMA, DR CONGO (July 11, 2012) – Sometimes it’s the seemingly small things that can help transform a life. Like eating a boiled egg.

HEAL Africa’s Wamama Simameni (Women Stand Up Together) safe houses provide a place where victims of gender-related violence can find refuge and long-term assistance. One woman says the most significant thing she learned while being ministered to through services at the house was that she could eat a boiled egg.

The woman brought a camera home from the center and took a picture of her peeling a boiled egg and another of her eating it. In the photos, her daughter watches with a big smile.

The woman had not known that she had the right to eat the eggs that she served her husband. In her cultural tradition, eggs were only reserved for men. Women and children were taught that eating an egg would make them sterile.

Now, thanks to a start-up loan the woman received from HEAL Africa, the woman has started an egg business.

Editor’s note: This story is adapted from a post on the HEAL Africa Facebook page.