Finding it hard to make ends meet

Dear Pastor,

I am 18 years old and I am living with my boyfriend in a nice area. I am not working but he works as a security guard. Four months ago, I gave birth to my second child, so the pressure is on him.

My father is a fisherman. We are living close to my parents, so my father brings fish for us when he goes to sea. I love my father very much. People say I am his favourite child. I would like to go back to school, but my mother is not in a position to babysit the children for me. She was very mad when I got pregnant with our second child. I know for sure that the condom broke and my boyfriend kept saying nothing was going to happen, but I got pregnant again.

My children's father asked his boss for a raise and his boss told him it would be cheaper for the company to hire a new security guard than to give him a raise. So he walked out of the office and that was the end of the conversation. You see how some of these people are wicked? My children's father has been working with the company for two years and hasn't got a raise. My boyfriend is too loyal to the company. We live in a one-bedroom house. The rent is not expensive, but the place is not convenient. It is ghetto life we are living. We are longing to get out of here. Pray for us.

B.R.

Dear B.R.,

Try your very best not to become pregnant again for a long time to come.

Your children's father should continue to look for another job, but he should make sure that he does not give up his present job until he gets a new one. I suppose when his boss said that it would be cheaper for the company to hire someone new than to give him a raise, he meant that he could give a new man the minimum, but he could not reduce your boyfriend's pay.

You should probably try and find a daycare centre where you can leave your children and go to work and pick them up afterwards. I don't know if that is possible in the neighbourhood in which you live. You do need to have money and not rely on your boyfriend for everything.

Pastor