Hussaina Salisu, a 54-year-old woman, from of Zaria in Kaduna State who had 15 children from single births, has advised young mothers to carefully plan their families so as not to jeopardise the future of their children and to have a trade, something to fall back to.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Hussaina had her first child at 14, gave birth to the 15 children over a period of 28 years, with no record of multiple births. Her first child is 40 years, while the youngest is 12 years.
On Tuesday in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, where she currently resides, she told NAN that her pregnancies and deliveries were never challenging.
“The pregnancies and births were never challenging. The only challenge is raising the children. That has been a very difficult task. Most of them did not go to school. Some started, but dropped out.
“If I was as enlightened as I am now and had any knowledge about family planning, I would not have found myself in this situation.
“As you can see, this is how we live. Survival has become a task. These children do not go to school, and we cannot even afford a decent meal,’’ she told NAN.
She advised young married women, especially those from the northern part of the country, to go for child spacing and only have a sizeable number of children that they would be able to cater for, in case they found themselves in a situation like hers.
“I had seven children from my first marriage, we got divorced and I married my second husband and had eight with him. But he left me and returned to his first wife, leaving me and the children.
“Some of the girls are now married, but none of them was able to get any education before starting a family. So, life has not been easy for them. They are practically living my kind of life.
“No mother wants to see her children suffer, but I have no choice. Seeing them struggling to survive through this hardship makes me very sad.” Hussaina says she does not regret having them, in spite of the hard time.
“Things are hard for me and the kids, but I have no regrets bringing them to this world. I love them deeply and I am ready to do anything to make them happy. I cannot give them up for anything.
“They are here already and I believe in God’s divine plan. I have faith that God will send helpers to us just like He has been doing, because my children and I are living on the goodwill of neighbours and many kind individuals.” Binta Salisub one of the children, spoke with NAN amidst tears that she was in school up to Junior Secondary School (JSS) 2, but had to drop out two years ago because she could not afford to go further, appealing to NGOs, philanthropists and other well meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of her family.
“We need help. We need food. We need education. We need support. People should help us,” she said. Hussaina went on to advise young mothers to ensure they had something to do so as to survive.
“Every woman should get a trade. Every woman needs something to fall back on when she finds herself in a situation like ours. No woman should be idle.” Sorosoke News
Mother of 15 advises women
Reviewed by Esther Temilade
on
November 10, 2020
Rating:
Reviewed by Esther Temilade
on
November 10, 2020
Rating:
