By Alva Solomon
When Abigail Boyce was a child, she lived with her grandparents. At the time, her aim was to complete school, start a career in nursing, and become a mother.
Today, at 31, Boyce has managed to accomplish two of those goals; she completed school, and she is a mother of five. The only problem, she said, is that she is raising her four sons and baby daughter on her own, since her relationship with their fathers “didn’t work out.”
Boyce lives at Port Kaituma in Region One, and she told this publication that it is a challenge each day in trying to ensure her children’s welfare is taken care of.
“Being a single mother isn’t easy, it isn’t easy, especially when you are not getting the help from the other party,” she said.
Boyce explained that she started her family in her late teenage years after she met her partner and started what was a fruitful relationship back then. She said she gave birth to twin boys. Later, the couple brought forth two additional boys from their union. Boyce said she and the children’s father both had jobs at the time, but things between them became awry.
Then she decided to raise her children on her own, even as she tried her best to continue working. She then started another relationship, and this time, she said, she was hopeful that the union would last forever. However, sometime after her daughter was born, the couple grew apart, and Boyce was left to contemplate her next move. She said that was some two years ago.
“I want my twins to finish school first, then I will decide to further my education,” Boyce said. She added that they have a little over two years left in secondary school. She said she plans to become a nurse, and she noted that she is determined to enter the field despite not receiving positive responses from the Ministry of Health regarding the nursing programme.
“I will continue to make sacrifices for my children, and I still know that one day I will become a nurse,” she added.
She said at the moment she finds seasonal work at Port Kaituma and whenever she is in need. She credits her mother as being her main support. “I try my best, and I get help from my mom whenever I need it. She is my everything. She helps me a lot when I am working by looking after them,” she said of her mother. She noted that her sisters also offer her support when she asks.
Boyce is an avid cricketer, and she utilizes her free time to play cricket at Port Kaituma. She said whenever there are competitions, she would participate as both player and leader of her team. “We are playing tomorrow on Mother’s Day,” she said.
The young mother has said she would continue to cherish the moments she spends with her children, and she noted that she is thankful for all the experiences life has brought her thus far. “I will continue to be a good mother to my children,” the single parent added.
