Reneka’s story 

“I’m excited about Christmas with my kids.”

Young mother Reneka and her two toddlers have been living at Grainger Grove for three months. “My partner was abusing and cheating on me”, she says. Reneka also has two older boys who live with her parents. 

Reneka didn’t have a very happy childhood and hopes that she can give her children a better one. “I grew up around a lot of drinking and it was very abusive. The best thing was going to school – it was my getaway.”

Grainger Grove is a residential family care programme offered by the Anglican Trust for Women and Children (ATWC), which teaches young mothers new ways of caring for themselves and their children, enabling them to make a fresh start and keep their children in the care. 

“Grainger Grove is teaching me how to be a better parent and helping with strategies to overcome some of the challenges I’ve been through,” explains Reneka. “I hope to graduate a stronger person and a better parent so I can get full custody of my children.”

“I look at Josephine (3 years) and Jeremiah (1 year) and think that if I go through this, I want it to mean a really good future for them – one that doesn’t have violence and abuse in it.” 

“Grainger Grove is a really happy place, it’s a great place for me to be with the children. The mums here are really supportive of each other and we get to know each other’s kids well,” she says. “The children and I have breakfast together and then I go to class and they go to preschool and we see each other again at lunchtime and in the afternoon. I’m really enjoying the classes and learning heaps.”

Reneka is looking forward to Christmas and hoping her older boys can join them at Grainger Grove. “The Santa bags are something I can’t buy for the kids – they are really special and I’m excited about sharing Christmas with them.”

Thanks Reneka, Josephine and Jeremiah for being part of our recent photo shoot and we hope you all get to enjoy a very special Christmas together!