Single Mom in Need of Urgent Help

Hi my name is Lissette and I am raising these funds for a friend of mine.

In late 2021, a group of 17 mommas from all over the world (including the US, UK, and Canada), all due in June 2022, created a virtual village to raise our kiddos. We met each other on a pregnancy forum (https://community.whattoexpect.com/forums), hit it off, and moved over to a WhatsApp chat group, where we have remained in touch ever since. From advice to venting to sharing milestones, we communicate on a daily basis, and have learned so much from and of each other. Unfortunately, hardship sometimes hides in plain sight, and we recently learned that one of our very own single mommas from Africa, Yamikani, has been experiencing great financial and medical hardship, and struggling to meet the basic needs of her family.

Yamikani was starting to have some health concerns during pregnancy. She was having back pain, her feet were starting to swell, and her baby girl, Chisale, was starting to become low on the pelvic area. Yamikani had an emergency c section on May 28th, 2022. In the process, both Yamikani and Chisale required extensive medical attention, which affected Yamikani’s ability to return to work. As a result, Yamikani’s employer terminated her payment without notice or severance pay. Since then, she has been unable to find work locally in her area, especially with Chisale being a high-needs baby with health complications (asthma/bronchitis and persistent cough). It is hard for Yamikani as a single mom to provide baby girl the medical attention she needs, on top of obtaining basic necessities such as food, electricity, and housing for the family, which includes her two older children (a son in high school and a daughter in junior school). She has difficulty providing school supplies, bus fare, uniforms and paying school fees and the cost of extracurriculars (her older son is on the debate club, chess club, and and is a school prefect (in the African school system, this is a student who displays top leadership and has high academic scores). Their landlord has evicted them for falling behind on 2 months of rent and she currently lives in an unsafe, uninhabitable dwelling in a squatter camp, where she and her children are at risk of abuse.

Yamikani herself suffers from health issues such as ear infection, headaches, fatigue and dizziness that require medical attention, but being the strong momma that she is, she chooses to spend her savings on her children instead.

Resources are scarce where Yamikani is at. Unlike in more developed countries, there are no resources for single moms or families in need such as WIC, shelters, etc. Her siblings live far from her and are unable to assist as they are struggling themselves. Yamikani was the sole breadwinner of her household, but having been unemployed since July 2022 and exhausted her savings, she has been surviving on limited income from the few part time jobs she can get and from friends out of the country giving what they can.

Yamikani has secured a job in the UK being a Care Worker that is being held until April. There are a few requirements that she needs to meet in order to be able to take on the job and move with her 3 children - certifications, passports, etc. As a group of mommas who have gotten to know her personally, we wanted to help her and her family overcome the hardships 2022 has brought them.

You can see below the breakdown of all that needs to be covered:

- Basic necessities for daily life $4110

- Passports for her and kids $480

- Visa for her and kids $1200

- St John’s Ambulance (First aid course required by her employer) $310

- IELTS (International English Language Testing System) $335

- Tuberculosis (TB) certification (proof of not having TB) $190

- Care certification $119.62

- Certificate of Sponsorship $1794.23

Total: $8538.85 so we will round it to $8600

*please note that part of your donation will be applied towards remittance fees payable by the organizer to World Remit. World Remit is the service used to remit the funds to Zimbabwe. Depending on the amount transferred, the remittance fee can range from $7.99 to $50. Please refer to the World Remit website ( for more information.

Please help Yamikani and her family. Every little bit counts. Once the funds have been collected, it will be sent to her via World Remit. We will be transparent throughout the whole process, updating when the money is used, for what, and the progress of the move. Thank you so much for your consideration and any help you can provide.