Teenager relies on granny to raise her child

Matric pupil Keneilwe's son was only three months old when her mother died in May and she saw her life crumbling down.

The 19-year-old from Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, on Wednesday told Sowetan that her mother had played an important role in helping her raise her child.

Now that her mother is gone, the teenager relies on her 72-year-old grandmother to help her. Her son is now six months old.

“My grandmother is very supportive. She takes care of my son while I'm at school and she encourages me to study hard and finish school with good marks and go to varsity,” Keneilwe said.

She said she was grateful to her grandmother and hopes to do well in school.

Keneilwe said while dealing with her loss and raising her son, she was seen as a bad example in the community.

“My friends distanced themselves from me. I am ashamed that I dragged and put my entire family into disrepute,” she said.

Her grandmother said at first she was disappointed that Keneilwe was pregnant.

“Children are a blessing from God, whether they came early or late. I am proud of Keneilwe for not giving up on herself after her experience,” the grandmother said, adding that having a child at a young age is not a death sentence.

“All parents expect the best from their children, even in their faults we continue to love and support them.”

Another teen mom, Koketso from Lebanon in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, said she was lucky because her parents were supportive.

She said she was taking a gap year from school to raise her son who was born in January. She was supposed to do her matric this year.

She told Sowetan that despite her being a single parent, her child never runs out of nappies as her parents compete in buying things for their grandson.

“I sometimes feel like I don’t have a child,” she said, adding that she is not proud to have had a child at 16 but she appreciates her parents' support.

She wants to become a lawyer.