Help me take my child for work
Donation protected
Dear all,
My name is Kristien. I am a young single mom of a 3-year old toddler doing a PhD in anthropology about eating disorders. A paper that I’m working on was selected for a very interesting conference in Auckland, New Zealand. I, myself, live in Belgium, so you can imagine my excitement when I got the news that I can present my work in this conference. Such conferences, about eating disorders studied in an inclusive, holistic way, are rare and of great value to my research. I was also invited as a guest speaker at the Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (University of Otago) in the southern island of New Zealand.
The following situation occurred to me, trying to make it to the conference. It’s necessary for me and my 3-year old to take her with me to New Zealand. My child is too young and vulnerable to be left for so many days without me there as her primary caretaker. Even if I wanted to, I don’t have anyone to leave her with, because I have no partner nor a good and helpful relationship with my parents to rely on practically and financially. I do everything on my own.
I asked the university and my funding agency to book a ticket for the both of us, as I still have plenty of budget left to cover the costs. In the five years of my PhD, I have never before used said budget - meant to cover working costs for my doctoral project - for plane tickets. In a few months, all remaining budget will inevitably flow back to the funding institution.
Alas, both the university and the funding agency of my PhD don’t think covering my child's plane ticket is a necessary cost. The institutions I’ve contacted proclaim that they cannot allow me to buy her ticket from my left-over budget, as they believe that would be the same as taking a partner for a family vacation.
This is absolutely not true, and at best discriminatory. It makes me wonder if academia and motherhood are still compatible for me. In the words of a colleague and single mom, "it is something that needs more attention from both organizers and funding bodies (as a single mom, sometimes your only choice is to take your child for conferences or research trips). Traveling for work is either a planning nightmare which involves asking a lot of help from others, or a financial burden, because I need to take my kid." Other universities abroad show that inclusivity is possible, applying a policy where they do cover the costs of a child in extraordinary situations, yet my university keeps the claim that "they understand it, but cannot make an exception."
I don't have the savings or budget to cover this cost myself. The plane ticket for my toddler has a cost of €2645,91. I'm opening a GoFundMe to cover the cost, so I can take her with me and do what is best both for my PhD and my child.
Thank you so much for your support.
Organizer
Kristien Spooren
Organizer
Ghent, VLG