Woman now works for charity that once helped her

Adelaide Bakouetila Kouloungou was helped by the Good Shepherd charity in the past and now works at their social enterprise cafe

A woman who needed a charity's services when she lost her job and home is now the first former service user to become a paid employee at the charity's social enterprise cafe.

The Good Shepherd supports disadvantaged people in Wolverhampton, particularly homeless people.

In 2018, Adelaide Bakouetila Kouloungou was referred to the charity's family pantry service to receive food and goods to benefit herself and her daughter. She used the service for two years while she rebuilt her life.

Now, the 62-year-old is an employee at the charity's Pomegranate Cafe, which offers training and employment opportunities for people who have been homeless or had other barriers to work.

"The people at the Good Shepherd were so good to me, I wanted to give something back," she said.

Ms Bakouetila Kouloungou is from the Champagne region of France and moved to the UK in the early 2000s - firstly to London and then to Wolverhampton.

With an NVQ level 3 in health and social care, she worked as a care assistant for a hospital and lived with her daughter and husband in the city.

She then went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit relatives, but while she was there she caught malaria and was taken to hospital twice.

As a result, she was abroad for eight months as she was too ill to return to the UK, and the delay meant she could not keep her job or home. She also went through a divorce.

Once back in the UK, and amid her challenges, a social worker referred her to the Good Shepherd and its family pantry service.

Ms Bakouetila Kouloungou was then employed by the charity as a cleaner for three days a week, before becoming the first person who was previously a service user to be employed at the Pomegranate Cafe, in October last year.

"I'm flying, I'm so happy," Ms Bakouetila Kouloungou said

"I love working at Pomegranate because they treat everyone the same," Ms Bakouetila Kouloungou said.

"We have our usual customers I like talking to, we have good food at a good price."

The 62-year-old said she was happy and now had a positive outlook on life.

She has a place via Scholars Schools System to study for a health and social care degree in September 2025.

She also said she was proud that her daughter, now 21, was studying psychology and criminology at university in London.

"I was completely down. Without the help, I [would] not get here now," Ms Bakouetila Kouloungou said.

"In September I will go to uni - I'm flying, I'm so happy."

'An inspiration to us all'

Tom Hayden, chief executive of Good Shepherd, said: "It's great to see the difference that Pomegranate has had on Adelaide's life and that she's doing so well.

"Pomegranate Cafe provides training and employment pathways which we are looking to provide even more of over the next year."

Leader of City of Wolverhampton Council Stephen Simkins said: "Adelaide is an inspiration to us all and I congratulate her on the journey she has made, overcoming real adversity.

"I'm so glad the Pomegranate Café at the Queen's Building has been part of her being able to rebuild her life, it's exactly why the council created the Queen's Building with our partners the Good Shepherd and the Wolves Foundation.

"So please support the cafe if you can - you can get a great coffee and bite to eat, while knowing it's also helping people like Adelaide."

All profits from Pomegranate Café are donated back to the Good Shepherd's free-to-access services.

It is open Tuesday to Friday, 09:00 BST to 14:30 BST.