Now my daughter calls me mum

I became depressed, Pregnancy, sexually active, the UCKG HelpCentre, the Victory Youth Group,

As I got older, I became sexually active, but everything got out of hand. Around that time, I started attending the Victory Youth Group at the UCKG HelpCentre, but I didn’t take their help and advice seriously.

I eventually got pregnant and things got even worse. I became depressed and felt incredibly empty inside, especially because the father of my child was in prison, leaving me without support during my pregnancy.

I had my daughter, and when she turned two, I started going clubbing every weekend. I wasn’t really worried about my child; all I cared about at that time was enjoying myself so that I could forget the reality of my problems. My family used to tell me that I needed to spend more time with my daughter and it hurt me.

I realised that I wasn’t being a good mother, so I decided to go back to the UCKG HelpCentre and do things the right way. I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter. I don’t regret the decision I made, because now I am truly happy. Now my daughter calls me “mum”, and not by my name.

Vanessa Lino