Ninety-nine children from five different orphanages around Suva were invited for a Christmas dinner treat at MHCC on Tuesday.

Among the VIP guests was Elina Valentine.

The 21-year-old single mother and her two-month-old son, Jese Valentine, joined Homes of Hope in March this year.

As a young mother who hails from Taveuni, she was glad to have joined the Home because she learned how to sew and bake.

She found out about the Home when she attended a summer camp in Suva.

“I was pregnant and I could not get a home so I joined them as they take in people who are neglected at home and they do not have a place to stay,” she said.

Although her parents had accepted her pregnancy, she said many in the family had said many negative things about her so she had no other choice but to leave her family home.

“The only struggle I faced was to provide for my child and I think that if we leave Homes of Hope, where will we go?” she said.

“When I was young, I used to see myself as an architect but now, from the classes at the Homes of Hope, I want to become an agriculture teacher.”

With Christmas just days away, Ms Valentine wishes to have a mobile phone and a place to settle down with her child.

She plans to get a stable job in the field of agriculture next year.

Ms Valentine and her son have now moved back with her family in Taveuni.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

Feedback:  monica.aguilar@fijisun.com.fj