Renufa’s Story: A Young Mother with a Plan

Renufa at her home, ©Spreeha Foundation

The hum of sewing machines is still fresh in Renufa’s mind — long shifts at the garments factory, fingers flying over fabric, the heat pressing in. She was barely a teenager when she left school to help her family: a father selling fuchka, a mother keeping the home together, and two younger siblings still in classrooms she could no longer afford to attend.

At 19, seven months pregnant, she had already decided that her own child would not face the same trade-offs. But she didn’t know where to start.

Spreeha’s outreach team met her during a door-to-door campaign. Within days, she was at the Spreeha Urgent Care Center having her first prenatal consultation. Now, she keeps a small notebook of everything she’s learning: how to prepare for breastfeeding, when to expect labor signs, what foods will help her and her baby grow stronger. Each visit includes health checks, supplements, and the reassurance that someone is tracking her baby’s development.

Renufa says,

I like having clear steps to follow. If I know what to do, I can give my baby the best chance from the very beginning.

She is determined to turn her plan into reality — one check-up, one healthy day at a time.