— People like Pretty Arojojoye are a big part of the reason President Obama repeatedly pledges to return to Africa after he leaves office.
Arojojoye was told by tribal leaders in her native South Africa to leave high school and marry. But after nine years of control and abuse she made her own choice — to move into a women's shelter and start her life fresh.
Education gave her the confidence to stand up for herself, she says, recounting the stolen hours at a local women's shelter where she secretly earned a counseling certificate through a distance-learning degree program at a nearby college.