HOW I OVERCAME: ‘The Coming Of My Baby Reignited My Life’

For three years, their marriage was close to heaven on earth.

Rhida had hoped that the blissful home would be for life, but this was quickly dashed by her husband, who walked away from the union.

The intervention of their families did not change her defiant husband to return home.

Rhida recalled: “For  three years everything went well after saying ‘we do,’ but the moment I told him that I was pregnant, he became hostile to me. I thought things change, but they got worse.”

She continued, “When I told my husband I was expecting our first child, I never imagined that would be the day he would decide to walk out of our lives.”

The abandonment marked the beginning of a difficult journey for her. With little financial support and a complicated pregnancy, Rhida said she struggled to survive. There were days when she wondered how she would raise a child as a single mother which she neither imagined nor planned for.

However, the birth of the baby boy changed everything for her good .

According to her, “the child’s arrival rekindled my hope and gave me the courage to start life afresh.”

She said that every smile from her son reminded her that she still had a reason to keep fighting and live for.

“My baby’s coming reignited my life. He gave me the strength to pick up the pieces and begin again,” Rhida said.

Determined not to be defeated by her circumstances, Rhida went for her Master’s degree programme, learned new skills, worked hard and focused on providing a better future for her son.

Five years later, she is living comfortably and raising a happy and healthy child.

“The pain of abandonment no longer defines my life, the son I once feared to raise alone has become my greatest source of joy and inspiration. I always have someone to talk talk and proud to be a mother,” she said.