From a childhood marked by shortages and abandonment, Natalia* managed to reinvent herself and become a loving mother and a good professional, thanks to the help she received in time.
Natalia hardly remembers her mother, as a stranger who appeared from time to time in her life. She grew up in various social apartments until she turned 18. She is shy by nature and speaks rarely and in an almost whispered voice, as if she is afraid of disturbing someone. She finished a vocational school and when she met a boy, also living in a social apartment, she hoped to share her life with him. When she became pregnant, she found herself the only responsible for the new life growing inside her. Through the authorities, she reached the maternity center of the United Way income program.
At the center, she has been greeted with kindness and friendship, she received clean clothes for herself and her child and every material support they needed. However, things were not going well between her and the child. It was hard for her to give him love and attention, play and spend time with him because she never got that from her mother. With a lot of understanding, psychological counseling and help from everyone, she overcame this obstacle, managing to have a beautiful relationship with her child. While living in the maternity center, she made great progress, she completed a hairdressing course and finally signed a permanent employment contract.
On her 22nd birthday, with a two years old child, Natalia got emotional when everyone sang “Happy Birthday!”, she received a cake and a gift and took pictures with those who became her family. With the money saved in the maternity center, she was able to rent a house. In the morning, she takes her little boy to daycare, then rushes to work. When she finishes work, she takes her child and goes home, to cook something, prepare things for the next day, read or play a little, before putting him to sleep.
She lives the independent and secure life he deserves even though she started out with so little in life. *To protect her identity, we have changed the beneficiary’s name and we used a generic photo.
