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Zaid: On giving her daughter a better life
Meet Zaid, mum of Ruby, a strong woman who after seven years in a refugee camp surviving with little food, medication or means for living, separated from her loved ones to find safety and provide a new life for her daughter in Australia. We are so lucky to have Zaid as part of our Francesca team.
Q: Can you share a little bit about your journey into motherhood and how that shaped your move to Australia?
“I come from Eritrea and I came from a refugee camp in Uganda, where I had been living for seven years. Life was very challenging to me. It’s not easy to live in Africa, it’s not safe, it’s not good living there. You can’t afford to live there, you cannot afford to arrange to go to the city, you have to be in a refugee camp, you can’t get supplies or money or live in a big city. So I had to come here to Australia by myself. I had to separate from my family and now I am here."
Q: How would you describe life now, being a mum?
Being a mum, and especially a mother to Ruby - every day is joyful. She makes me happy, she makes me smile, she is everything.
Q: What are you grateful for as a mum?
“In Eritrea, we can’t get supplies for my daughter and so couldn’t raise a baby because life is not easy - we couldn’t afford to eat, couldn’t afford medication or food or anything and it’s not safe at all. But Australia is such a good place to live, I have free hospitals, free clinics, I work here at Francesca and I am just so lucky to have Ruby here.”
Q: What are the best parts and hardest parts of motherhood?
"She is very hard to put to bed. Often her sleeping is not so good and when she is sick it’s hard to know what to do with her. But, the rewarding part is always seeing her happy, playing, eating well and sleeping well, that’s the best part.”