Amazing moments in raising a child amidst thorns
First births are supposed to be magical, amazing moments. But for CECILIA AWUOR, it was anything but that. News of her pregnancy at just 18 did not go well with her friends and family as her father threw her out. She shares her story of getting back on her feet again
When you meet Cecilia Awuor and her eight-year-old daughter, Pinky Buyere for the first time, you will be forgiven to think life has always been a bed of roses for them.
On Instagram streets, you will always spot them dressed in matching outfits. She says her Sundays are treated as mother-daughter moments.
You will find them having fun in different places and from a distance you can envy their life.
However, Cecilia says it has not been a smooth journey for her, especially as a young mother.
Cecilia, 27 says she is only alive because of her eight-year-old daughter.
Shortly after completing secondary school in 2011, Cecilia got pregnant by a boyfriend who refused to take responsibility.
To make matters worse, her friends and family also rejected her leading her to contemplate suicide. “ After giving birth, I tried to take away my own life three times, but it all backfired on me.
I stopped when reality hit me that my daughter only had me and nobody else to take care of her.
Since then I have never entertained suicidal thoughts. I had to put my pride down to hustle for our life.”
Tough life
She remembers vividly how her father kicked her out of their house 10 days after giving birth.
With nowhere to go to since the father of her child had changed his phone number, she was forced to seek refuge in a friend’s house.
“My dad was so disappointed when he learnt that I was pregnant because I was his favourite daughter and I was only 18 years old.
Though he didn’t take any action immediately, after giving birth, he kicked me out of the house and asked me to take the child to her father,” she sadly recalls.
Forced by circumstances she couldn’t afford to exclusively breastfeed her daughter and she ended up weaning her when she was just 12 days.
After two months her friend’s mother gave her some money, which she used to rent a single room and she bought some essential household items.
To make ends meet, she started preparing and selling porridge to casual labourers working in construction sites.
Life was not easy, more so because she was a single mother and a teenager with little or no experience about parenting.
To run her business with little or no disturbance, she had to take her daughter to a daycare since she couldn’t afford to hire a house help.
Even in the midst of all these tribulations, her vision to make something out of her life was not dead. She still had hopes of joining college.
When her daughter turned two months old, she talked to her father, who had eased up and had agreed to pay half of her college fees.
That is how she was able to enroll for a diploma course in Cabin Crew at the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
With still other bills to shoulder as a mother and be able to pay the remaining fee balance, Cecilia continued with her porridge business, a venture she sustained until she graduated.
“To manage all this, I used to wake up early in the morning to make porridge and prepare my daughter for daycare.
I then would drop her at the daycare on my way to sell porridge. After selling porridge, I would then proceed to school. It was not easy, but I managed,” she recounts.
Luckily, immediately after graduation, she secured a job as a cabin crew and since then, her life changed from worse to better.
She also founded a fashion line, Justcycy Designs and her designs have made appearances on different runaways. She went back to school and attained another diploma in procurement, supply and purchase.
Mother-daughter bond
“I love fashion. So when I secured a job I started attending tailoring classes informally. That is how I learnt how to stitch.
After three years I resigned and opened my workshop and I don’t regret it,” she offers.
Her daughter remains to be her number one fan and best friend. They talk about everything and anything. To her, the strong bond they have is what keeps them close.
How about her father? Cecilia says they are in good terms now and she loves him. “It is because of what my father did to me that I am now an independent lady.
I have never blamed him for his action because I know he acted that way out of anger.”
Her advice to young single mothers is that they can break down if they want, but always remember they have a child or children to take care of.
“Even if you don’t have a stable income, be ready to work through the hard times, you will eventually make it,” she quips.
