Imagine having to choose between being away from your baby for the first five months of life or dropping out of college with just your final semester left. That is, unfortunately, the reality of the dilemma Snethemba faces.
Snethemba is a 21-year-old college student from a poor family in South Africa who recently discovered she was expecting her first child. Upon learning this news, she panicked. She knew she couldn’t afford a child and had no one to watch the child while she completes her final year of college. The father is not in the picture; her aunt, who is her legal guardian, works and cannot care for the child; and her grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease.
Feeling hopeless, Snethemba considered abortion and even scheduled an appointment. Still, after counsel, guidance, and support from pro-lifers on Reddit, she realized she couldn’t go through with the abortion because she knew she would regret it. Those same pro-lifers tried their best to get her in touch with pregnancy help organizations that could assist her, but most of the organizations informed her they only help those who reside in the US. She was, however, able to get connected with a social worker there who provided emotional support, and soon she canceled her abortion appointment. She was also able to get accepted into a home for pregnant women that will provide her housing in her college town until she gives birth.
However, once she gives birth, she will have to return to student housing, where she cannot have the baby. This is where, without this fundraiser, she only has two options:
- Drop out of college and return home with her child, with no financial means or job aspects to care for the baby, or
- Place her child in a children’s home while she finishes her last five months of classes to secure her degree and a good job upon graduating to care for her child.
Snethemba knows dropping out isn’t an option if she ever plans to give her baby a better upbringing than she had, but she’s also devastated by the thought of not being able to be with her baby for the first five months of their life.
However, with this fundraiser and your support, Snethemba CAN acquire private housing and secure daycare for her little one so she can stay in school AND care for her child. In fact, she needs just over the equivalent of $4,000 to ensure she and her baby stay together.
While Human Defense Initiative normally does not host financial fundraisers nor assist mothers outside of the United States, we have decided to take her case as a one-time project. We will not be able to host a baby registry for her since she lives out of the country due to customs fees, so we have decided to share her fundraiser instead.
Research shows bonding between mom and baby during the first five months of a baby’s life is crucial. It not only helps prevent postpartum depression but also plays a key factor in the baby’s development as well as their emotional, social, and mental health. So, we couldn’t bear the thought of Snethemba being away from her baby during this vital time with only $4,156 standing in the way of a different, happier, and healthier outcome for them both.
We have seen all of her schooling, medical, and identification records, as well as other supporting documents regarding daycare and housing estimates she’s received to attest that she and her baby can stay together as she finishes the school year if these funds are raised. Will you help them as they start their journey together?
