Assisting us in coordinating these awards are four outstanding ladies who are Women of Courage in their own right.

Presenting:

OUR WOMEN OF COURAGE

Carla Cash
http://community.adlandpro.com/go/245569/default.aspx

Pauline Raina           http://community.adlandpro.com/go/301079/default.aspx

Geketa Holman        http://community.adlandpro.com/go/313726/default.aspx

Terry Gorley
http://community.adlandpro.com/go/169711/default.aspx

Branka Babic  http://community.adlandpro.com/go/EloElu/default.aspx

Our Sweethearts of Courage

Shirley Caron http://community.adlandpro.com/go/scaronpoet2005/default.aspx

Michael Caron        http://community.adlandpro.com/go/192260/default.aspx

LaNell  http://community.adlandpro.com/go/44064/default.aspx

And AdlandPro's Very Own Man of Courage

Georgios Paraskevopoulos  http://community.adlandpro.com/go/Genesis/default.aspx

Thank you Georgios for this week's nomination.

WE PRESENT TO YOU OUR FORTY-SECOND

WOMAN OF COURAGE 

Juliana Bond

http://community.adlandpro.com/go/julianab/default.aspx

Thank You for this wonderful oopportunity to share a bit more of myself Luella.

I was born in Wigan, Lancashire UK in 1967. My Father was a Boiler-Maker and my Mother a housewife. I am the middle child of 5. I have an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister.

When I was around 3 yrs old my parents brought us to live in Wirral which is the other side of the River Mersey from Liverpool and I have lived here ever since.

When I was around 10 years old my Mother became very unwell with Agoraphobia and began to suffer from nervousness. She had recently given birth to my younger brother and at first it was thought that she had post-natal depression but she got worse and she suffered a nervous breakdown.

My Father was working away at the time, my older brother and sister were staying elsewhere with friends so there was just me, my younger sister (she was 6 yrs old) and my baby brother.

A neighbor offered to take us in but I didn't’t get on with her sons who were too boisterous and I was afraid that my baby brother would get injured. My little sister got on with them though so she went to stay with them. I stayed at home with my baby brother. I never had a visit from social services or anything like you would expect.

Eventually someone made contact with my Father and he returned to the UK.

Although he had come home we hardly saw him. He spent most of his time at the hospital with my Mother and I stayed at home with my brother.

After about a month my Mother came home. My baby brother and I had become extremely close and he would cry if my Mother picked him up. This relationship that I had with him has continued throughout our lives and we are still extremely close.

When I was 13 years old, my Father had a terrible industrial accident and was left permanently disabled. My Mother still had her problems so I became their full-time caregiver. I missed most of senior school but I did manage to do my CSE exams (and passed!)

At 18 years old I met my future abuser! At first of course everything was wonderful, we were ‘In Love’. But it soon changed after I had my first Child. He began to beat me. I suffered terrible injuries and tried to escape him many many times but I was so afraid of him.

He was arrested on many occasions, but then as soon as they let him out he would come back and whole thing would start again. Then one terrible day, when my son was just 5 years old the most awful thing happened! I had left my son with his father while I went to the local store. I was gone for less than 20 minutes and in that time he had turned on my son and beaten him up so badly that I had to ring an ambulance! His Father ‘ran away’ and I called the police.

My Son, through counseling told of constant abuse from his Father and of the threats he had made to him regarding telling anyone. His Father was sent to prison and finally the police began to help me. They found me a social worker who put us into what is known as a ‘safe house’. But I suffered from the most terrible guilt and blamed myself constantly. I reached a stage where I had become suicidal, thinking that my son would be better off without such a terrible Mother as me. I had severe depression.

Twelve months after my son was assaulted, his Father was released from Prison. He found us almost immediately, breaking into my home in the early hours armed with a baseball bat! It was the most terrifying night of my life! I awoke to find him standing over me about to bash my head in! I screamed and with my feet pushed him out of my way and as quickly as I ran downstairs to the phone, he ran out of the house.

He didn't’t get far as there was coincidently a Patrol car at the bottom of our street and again he was arrested.

My son and I spent the next 5 years moving from one house to another, moving some 15 times! And then, in 1998 the best thing that could ever happen, happened.

My Son’s Father accidentally took a drug overdose and had died! I know It sounds terrible but after what that man put us through I felt nothing but relief!

By now I had met another man and had my second Child who was born with Albinism (no pigment in his skin or eyes) and he is partially sighted. His Father ‘ran away’ when our Son was diagnosed so I figured he would never have been a good father anyway. 

So I stayed single. I continued to take care of my Parents as well as caring for my Children. My Mothers health began to deteriorate but we thought it was stress. I have never had a good relationship with my Father even though I still took care of him.  We would argue a lot and I thought that the stress was affecting my Mother.

I was terrified of losing her as we had always been so very close, she was my best Friend. We took care of each other.

Then, one day the strangest thing happened. I went to get a tyre puncture fixed on my car and the mechanic asked if I knew how much air should be in my tyres, I said no so he proceeded to show me, taking hold of my hands to guide me and with that touch, just that simple touch the strangest feeling came over me! I felt that God was telling me that this man was going to take care of me now!

I went back home and felt strange for the rest of the day. That night my phone rang and it was the mechanic! He had got my number from a mutual friend who worked at the same garage. We talked for hours and hours.

We became very close over the next few weeks and then, suddenly, my Mother was diagnosed as terminally ill! I was devastated but it confirmed to me that feeling that I had, when God spoke to me. God was taking my Mother with him and had sent my Husband to take care of me!

Just 12 weeks later My Mother passed away. My Husband, Degs, and I got married on what would have been my Mother and Fathers wedding anniversary the following year.

Soon after my Mothers passing, my Father decided that he never wanted to see me again! As I said, we never got on, he had a jealousy of the relationship between my Mother and I. He gave me such a hard time as a Child with emotional and mental abuse.

I was extremely upset though that he wanted to completely end our relationship and have tried on several occasions to contact him but sadly to no avail.

The last few years have been tough as I have been suffering from Tuberculosis and the doctors and treatment just don’t seem to be able to get rid of it.

I have always suffered ill health after being born with a lung condition and I am registered disabled. I’m currently suffering from a diseased gallbladder with stones and I’m hoping to have it taken out real soon.

I spend most of my time writing and for those of you who don't know, I am a published Author, Poet and Singer/Lyricist.  I have also written scripts for TV.

You can see some of my work HERE

I came to the internet to share my writing and then slowly became involved in the plight of our worlds children. As a survivor of abuse and the Mother of a survivor I began to council others who have suffered. I then became involved in the search for missing children.

I make regular posts of cases in various places on the net, exposing the pictures of the missing children and also pictures of wanted sex-offenders in the hope that someone somewhere will recognise one of them.

I adore children, my husband Degs and I have seven and I believe as an adult and as a parent it is my duty to protect all children.

I don't really do much in the way of business but I am part of just two BIG business',

UBIEE

EVOLUTION

If You're not in, you should be!

By Juliana Bond