Parental Support Motivates Teenage Mother
Parents of a teen mother, who became the dux of her school, say it’s important to encourage children to never lose sight of a better future for themselves.
Roslyn Musuka’asau and husband, Ratu Mara Musuka’asau, stood proudly as parents congratulating their daughter, Jeini, after receiving the dux prize for Rotuma High School.
Holding onto them was Jeini’s daughter whom she gave birth to in 2020, at 17 years old.
Jeini’s life was turned around when towards the end of her Year 12 she found out she was pregnant.
Her mother was unwelcoming at first but later understood that there was no one else to support her daughter.
“When I asked her if she was pregnant and when she admitted it, her father was in tears while I reacted differently to the situation,” she said over the phone from Rotuma.
“It was the beginning of a different journey for my daughter.”
Ms Musuka’asau remembered days when Jeini had to leave school at lunch time just to head home to breastfeed her daughter. They had planned to send her to university but later decided to let her experience motherhood.
“Things happen and they happen for a reason,” Ms Musuka’asau said.
“It is important for us as parents to accept it and work in ways to survive the storm with our children by our side.”
Jeini said she had to fight long and hard to get back to school.
Journey to success
Although the situation could have ended her education journey, the teenage mother made sure life for her daughter would not be the same as hers.
Jeini hails from Tubou, Lakeba, with maternal links to Rotuma. In 2020, Jeini sat for Year 12 External Examination while she was four months pregnant. That’s when she broke the news to her parents because she didn’t know what to do. Yet she scored 352/400 that year.
“My parents were the two who stood by me through it all,” she wrote on Facebook.
With their support, she went back to school after a yearlong break caring for her child. She completed high school victorious.
The Year 13 dux scored 335/400 in the annual examination.
“Being a teen mum and balancing school work is a struggle, but they (parents) supported me indifferently,” she said.
“When things became very hard and painful at school to the point where giving up was the option. “They sat with me and prayed on bended knees for strength and a heart that would show forth that when God is with us who could ever go against him’. Jeini said she made it through because of the good support system she had.
“Many were just waiting for my downfall when I took this path, but God has been good and faithful all along,” she said.
“It is not the end of the world.”