Clinic help for abandoned Mum

Annet's Story

"I lost my father when I was about 5 years old in South Sudan, there were four girls in our family and I am the second born. Our mother was responsible for all our needs. Being a single mother, she can not do much, we sometimes eat once a day, no formal education for us. When other girls are going to school, we do domestic cores to help our mother.

Being the brightest girl amongst the four, my uncle took me to Kampala with the aim of enrolling me at school. I started the school and life was really good until I reached first term of senior three when the income of my uncle dropped to the extend that he can not provide for me the basic needs and I had to drop out of school and travel back to the village (Mijale), a very remote village South of South Sudan along Uganda -South Sudan border. I stayed there with my old mother and that was in 2017.

On reaching the village, I found my elder sister had got married already due to the hardship at home. While with our mother, life was extremely difficult, no access to sanitary pads, quality medical care services, we could sometimes eat once a day and all these were so difficult moments for me freshly returning from the city!

One evening as I was walking towards Mijale centre, a man who is almost twice my age identified himself as a log dealer, rich, single etc. He approached me and later investigated me and promised to provide all my basic needs including education, to cut the story short, as time went by, I fell in love with him only to realize it was a trap set for me. He took me to Arua and we stayed there for three years and one night I asked him about the hope of me joining school, that was the month I conceived for him, it was my first born. In the same year, he also married another woman. I delivered my first baby with the worst labour experiences but had no where to run for a help. Sadly, before my first born could reach one and a half year, I conceived for him again. The most painful part of my story started when I was only three month pregnant with my second born and that was in February 2022.

One morning, my husband unexpectedly told me that he was travelling to South Sudan for his usual log business and that was the last time I saw him!

Life without him was just enough to invite death to myself. I thought of aborting the child but I was a strong Christian so I can not do such acts. I became a laughing figure in my village in Arua, nobody to help pay my rental bills and provide food for us. I attempted unsuccessful suicide twice before my old mother sent transport money for travelling back to the village (Mijale).

While in the village, the suffering continuously intensify on daily basis and all I knew was this is the end of the world for me and my child including the unborn baby. Being pregnant, I can not do anything to support myself, most of the time my eyes were full of tears and the moment people start to talk about the whereabout of my husband, I just faint.

That was until I met this young community midwife (Asaba) of Jehovah Rapha Clinic who later introduce me to the clinic midwife, Bethy. They were so kind to me and organised a massive counselling session with me until I safely delivered my second born in their hands in the clinic.

At the time of my delivery, I absolutely had no babies clothes, not even soap for my baby but they gave me some baby clothes from the clinic and bought some bars of soap and many other things and also they introduced me to a counsellor called Rev Gale Scopas who was unexceptional in his work.

Through the help of these people, I really restored my lost hope. I then asked Bethy and Asaba if they can allow me to volunteer as a cook in the clinic so that I can take care of my little kids. They referred me to clinic in-charge who after seeing my situation, he said - we really don’t have the money to pay you at the moment but we shall support you where we can to keep you and your children alive - and all this added the smiles to my face."