22/01/2026
I was nineteen
When fear became louder than hope.
When shame walked ahead of me.
I thought pregnancy meant the end.
I thought motherhood meant burial of dreams
I tried abortion.
I tried death - because living felt heavier than dying
But I stayed
I carried the shame
I carried the child
Somehow, I carried myself back to life.
I went back to school with the help of Ndoto Organization
With tears in my eyes and courage in my chest.
Step by step,
I rewrote the story shame tried to finish
Today I stand as a nurse
Not because life was easy
But because I refused to end where pain began.
So to the young girls hiding their pregnancies.
To the young mothers who feels forgotten..
Your life is not ruined
Your future is not canceled
Your womb did not erase your worth.
Hold on
One day, your survival will become someone's else hope.
I am Mercy Omondi
A mother
A nurse
Founder of Jochebed Meril Foundation and a proof that beginnings can rise for broken places.
