Finding love and support

Hui Ling

My life up to this point has been a roller coaster – adventurous, scary, with dips and highs. Yes, I am a Secondary school dropout. And, yes, I am pregnant. I haven’t lived the life of a normal teenager but, at the heart of it, I just want the love, care, and support that any young person needs. This is my story.

Coming from a broken family, I haven’t had the freedom that many other people my age might have. My mother works long and hard hours to support our family of five but it wasn’t enough. My younger siblings are still so young and as the oldest, I felt that it was only right that I drop outof school and start working to help my family financially. I was 16 when I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do! I was too afraid to tell my mother – she would be so angry and disappointed. How can we afford to raise another baby? My boyfriend left me when he found out I was pregnant so who can help me raise my baby? Also, if my boss were to discover that I am pregnant, I might lose my job. There were many times I thought of hurting myself to get myself out of this impossible situation. Luckily, I confided in my friend who referred me to Babes Pregnancy Crisis Support. I was five months when Babes counseled me and finally convinced me to inform my mother – I was getting bigger and it was getting harder to hide my belly. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever had to do.

My mother was furious when she found out. She threatened to disown me if I didn’t go for an
abortion but I was too far along for it. I must admit that secretly, I had grown attached to the little being growing inside me as well. It took a long time but with the help of my aunts and my Babes Caseworker, my mother eventually warmed up to the idea of a new family member. We are in this together! I was so relieved that I cried. The past few months had been a nightmare for me because I was so afraid that I had to raise my baby all alone by myself.

I plan on working still to provide for my family. And later, I want to go back to school because I see how important it is to my future to have an education. Right now, I’m just so excited to meet my child and be the best mum I can be for her. I am grateful to my mother, my aunts, and Babes for being there for me, and for showing me that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.