About Author
Hope in an unexpected pregnancy
The Hope Center helps women and their partners cope with an unexpected pregnancy by providing counselling, education, medical care, and support. At the same time, the center provides counselling and support to women who have had an abortion. Sarah Wheway is the Founding Director of the Hope Center and Xanthi Palachantsidou is the Team Leader.
Anna*, found the Hope Center through our website; she emailed us explaining her situation and asking us for help to have an abortion. She and her husband had come to Greece 10 months earlier as economic migrants and were planning to move to Northern Europe for a better life.
The very next day we contacted her and arranged to meet her at her home. She lived in a basement apartment with her husband and their two-year-old daughter. Their house was in poor condition and had very little furniture. It only had a sofa and was lacking basic appliances like a fridge. They were both desperate and felt that abortion was the only "logical solution". However, Anna in particular was devastated at the idea.
While we were at their house, we talked about the pros and cons of each option. At the same time, we explained to them the ways in which we could support them. We told them not to rush into a decision, but to take some time. So, they agreed to visit our gynecologist for a first check-up. As we left their home, the woman told us with tears in her eyes that she felt relieved and much calmer.
As time passed, Anna wanted to keep the baby, but her husband was convinced that this was impossible. After much discussion and prayer, they finally decided to keep their baby. It has been wonderful to see Anna’s faith in God renewed, and to hear her thank Him for helping her. She tells us: "You saved my baby!" and her face lights up!
Not long afterwards, we organized a mini waxing workshop. Anna helped the team make scented candles and we sold them at various charity bazaars. All the proceeds, which were much more than we expected, went to support her family.
She was offered a job at HM’s fashion workshop, Rain Lab, so she can now also cover part of her family's needs. We also found furniture and household appliances to equip their home, while the little baby has already acquired a "dowry" of baby clothes and accessories, which were lovingly donated by many people. It is great to see the HM teams working together as one body and supporting each other.
Our purpose is to continue standing by Anna's family, as we promised her at our first meeting - a meeting in which hope for a better future was born!
* The name has been changed to protect the identity of those we serve
She was offered a job at HM’s fashion workshop, Rain Lab, so she can now also cover part of her family's needs. We also found furniture and household appliances to equip their home, while the little baby has already acquired a "dowry" of baby clothes and accessories, which were lovingly donated by many people. It is great to see the HM teams working together as one body and supporting each other.
Our purpose is to continue standing by Anna's family, as we promised her at our first meeting - a meeting in which hope for a better future was born!
* The name has been changed to protect the identity of those we serve