A Plead for Help—Abandoned baby Mother Cries out

By Victoria Wesseh, +231 77 814 7938–FeJAL Mentorship Fellow

Lofa County Liberia: In a heart-injuring tale of rejection and struggle, 18-year-old abandoned mother Tewah Mollay shares her traumatic experience as she pleads for support to empower herself and her child.

Ms Tewah has been left to navigate the challenges of raising a child alone after being abandoned by the child’s baby daddy for months.

The young mother recounts her trials and tribulations while at the same time underscoring the urgent need for assistance to cater to her under five years old child’s wellbeing. Tewah Mollay who appears to be a courageous young woman, in a tearful plead said, her heartbreaking story began when her one-week-old baby was solen by a woman only identified as Bendu in porluwu town wanhassa in her father in-law house.

According to Tewah, authorities of Watch Forum and the Porluwu Town Chief alerted the community and with the help of the Police, the child was found.

The 18year old mother also narrated that her baby daddy and father-in-law have since reneged to support the child, something which has cause her more pain and depression. She noted that she was forced out of the Town leaving her with no choice but to return to her hometown in Yegbedu Town.

Sharing tears, Tewah lamented her desperate situation confessing that without urgent assistance from government and international organizations and philanthropic she and her little daughter may die.
“I may die with my daughter because it’s not easy, my heart is hurting and filled with anguish, my child and I conditions have worsen in Yegbedu Town, I’m appealing to anyone who can offer help because I am overwhelmed by my suffering, If God helps me survive this, I vow never to bear another child because I am truly suffering.” She said.

According to Tewah, since she was abandoned by Momo Fomba, the man who impregnated her, life has been so difficult for her.
“Even though I suffered from the day he walked away when I got pregnant, my real suffering started from the day I delivered, to the extent that I could not even afford food to eat”.
Tewah explained how she had no other alternative but to return to her hometown when it became clear that there was no more hope that her boyfriend and his father will help her in any way.
Despite several efforts to find Momo Fomba and hear from him what exactly led to his decision to abandon his pregnant girlfriend, there is no information currently about his whereabout.

Tweah may not be the only young Liberian woman facing such condition by a Man walking away from her after impregnating her,
Many women in several parts of the country are faced with similar situation despite public education and sensitizing by government and its partners.

Recently, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) released a report suggesting that there are more than three hundred thousand street children across Liberia.

Gender Minister Gbemie Horance Kollie recently disclosed that Montserrado, Bong, Nimba, Margibi and Grand Bassa counties account for the largest number of street children in Liberia.

Minister Kollie said, there are three categories of street children in the country. She named the categories as, children whose parents cannot afford to take care of them, children who parents have the capacity but have just chosen to be in the streets, and children who were either taken from their parents under the pretense of taking them to the city for education, or those who Father’s walked away while their mother was pregnant.

As a result of the situation Minister Kollie said the Ministry will at the end of August launch a project that seeks to get these venerable children from the streets,
She disclosed that the project is a five-year project, but there is a pilot phrase currently being implemented by Steer Child, a local nongovernmental organization based in Monrovia,
She further disclosed that the pilot project will end in December this year targeting at least 500 children.

Minister Kollie said under the project, social workers from the ministry are working with street children to recruit venerable children from select communities in Monrovia to benefit.

The gender ministry disclosed that the project will also provide small grant for parents of these vulnerable children to do business and provide livelihood and ensure that the children are put in school,
Like several other Liberian women, Tewah’s case is a call for not only help but also underscores the need for more public education to guide against men who pregnant women and leave them with the responsibility to care for them and the child.

It also serves as a reminder for government and its partners as well as community-based organizations that more needs to be done at the community level to protect vulnerable young women who usually become victims of being impregnated by some men who are not bearing the care burden.

Many people who spoke to our reporter attributed the situation to either the lack of sufficient public education, or poverty which is the result of the current unemployment rate in the country.

This story is Published under FeJAL Mentorship Program.