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My name is Mai Dee I am a mother of two children, one boy and one girl. I was born to a family of 11. The family was too big for my parents and we were living in abject poverty. The situation that I grew up in destroyed my confidence.
My father was working as a chef and my mother was a vendor. We failed to have a bond with our mother because we rarely saw her. She used to wake up very early while we were still asleep going to her vending business and return very late into the night. We accepted the situation and lived as children who do not have a mother.
Life was very tough for us when we were growing up. It was very difficult to put food on the table and buying new clothes was a rare occasion. My father later left his job as a chef and he got a new job at a local company. The company gave him a four roomed house. We were very happy because we were living in a makeshift house made of old drums. Moving to a big house failed to change our situation and the poverty continued.
My elder sisters and brothers failed to go to school because of the situation. I was lucky to go to school but I was always out of school because of failing to pay school fees. The situation made me to lose confidents with life. I was not comfortable being around other school mates because I felt that they were looking down upon me. I developed an inferiority complex amongst peers.
I completed my ordinary level in 1989 and my father died in 1990. Our living standards continued deteriorating. Of the 11 children only five are still alive, the rest died from diabetes. We were left with the burden of caring for the orphans.
I would like to thank GL for coming up with this programme. I managed to regain my confidence and I am going to work hard and reclaim my life. I am married and am living happily with my husband. I only have two children and I vowed never to give birth to the children whom I might fail to take care of. I therefore advise anyone who is going to read my story to do proper family planning.
📝Read the emotional article by @nokwe_mnomiya, with a personal plea: 🇿🇦Breaking the cycle of violence!https://t.co/6kPcu2Whwm pic.twitter.com/d60tsBqJwx
— Gender Links (@GenderLinks) December 17, 2024