The Child with No Identity

By Florence Lasayo

This is a story about a little girl who has no idea where she came from. She just found herself in the arms of a beautiful old woman who treated her with so much love, compassion, and care.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638443711

Book preview

cover.jpg

The Child with No Identity

Florence Lasayo

ISBN 978-1-63844-370-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63844-371-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Florence Lasayo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

A Different Type of Hurt

The Fragility of Life

The Physical Hurt

The Emotional Trauma

The Moment of Truth

The Psychological Impact

Double-Sided Mirror?

Hiding Identity

A Journey to the City

Away from Home

Severed Love

A Cry of the Village Virgin

Silence Speaks Volumes

God’s Plan

In memory of my grandmother, Mama Fatu Maculey, my elder brother, OldMan Sunny Abu Kamara, my niece, Ruth Hawa Bangura, my little sister, Titty Sesay, and my Aunty Haja Saffie Sannoh.

Acknowledgments

I, first of all, want to say thanks to God for giving me this opportunity and wisdom to write this book. And I am grateful for birthing a new me. I will always glorify your name everywhere I go, and I pray for your grace and mercy to be with me. Thank you, Lord, for everything.

To my gorgeous angels, thank you for adding more values to this endeavor. You guys are not just my daughters, but you are also funny and smart. You kept me laughing every moment of my life. You are my princesses, my best friends, above all, my daughters

Mr. Albert Lasayo, the father of my kids, my husband. We are on the rough edges, but I want to thank you very much for being part of my life for over twenty-two years. Regardless of what you will always be in my heart.

Mariama A. Lasayo, thank you for giving me the emotional support as you tell me every day, Mummy, I can’t wait for your book, and I will post it on my Instagram. MA, words cannot express how much I love you, but you already know that.

Alberta N. Lasayo, the baby in the family. You are such a sweetheart. Thanks for making me lunch and dinner when I am busy typing. I love you, darling.

Mrs. Fatmata Williams, my darling sister. My only sister, what can I say? You are just an exceptional, intelligent, smart, pretty, gorgeous sister one could ever ask for. You have always been my number one fan. You have fought for me, cried with me, laughed with me, and you always described me as your hero. I want to thank you for the love and support, both financially and emotionally. I love you so much, sis.

Lamin Hassan Jr., my only brother, thank you for being my only elder brother. Love you.

Pastor Tigi Kanu, you are one in a million. I remember when I told you I wanted to write a book. You encouraged me to go for it. You gave me so much confidence. You have so much faith in me, and you always tell me I can do it. No, I can’t do it. We all did it. Thanks for all the prayers, thought, and support as you always say, Despise not the days of the small beginnings.

Alia Cole, thanks for standing by me and helping raise our kids together. You will always be my little sister, and I love you.

Michelle Cozier, you are my best friend, my palava mate. We have jumped through so many hurdles, but you never leave me behind. Although sometimes you annoy me and I feel like donating you, but you are my strong support system. I love you and always will.

To Mahawa Dumbuya, you are the first woman that took me under your wings. I will always love you.

Chuck and Mary Gilberti, thank you for the love, care, accommodation, and hospitality you showed me. Thanks for the delicious food and allowing me to use the internet. I appreciate you for being a big brother and sister to me.

Hope for Sierra Leone Organization. I want to thank you, all, for being part of this journey, one way or another. We might not be calling each other every day, but we have each other’s back at all time. FYI, you are all fired.

Isatu and David Lamara, it’s a blessing to have you, guys. Thanks for being my children.

Introduction

My name is Florence Joyce Lasayo, a former student of Raritan Valley College RVCC in 2011 and 2013 Middlesex College MSCC College of New Jersey pursuing an associate’s degree in psychology and nursing with a GPA of 3.7. Because of my output in RVCC, I was awarded a letter of scholarship to go and study at the University of California, which I rejected. You might be wondering why someone would reject such an offer. Well, you might not be the only person that was astonished about my decision. One of my academic advisors named Miss Christine F was also not delighted with decisions that she kept asking me over and over why I take such an uncompromising decision about my future. She further went on and said, This is a great opportunity that people will be jumping at, but here you are rejecting it, and I want to know why.

I tried tucking her into understanding the reason why I decided not to acknowledge the free scholarship as she always says she is very proud of me because I am battling with sickle cells and still trying to further my education then still be proud of me for making this decision. But I wouldn’t blame her if she wouldn’t understand my plight at this moment. I guess she is now disappointed in me because of one critical decision I have made. I believe if any of you were in my shoes, you would have made the same or similar decision.

My decision was just based on the vow I made to myself that when I grow up and have my kids, no matter what opportunity may come my way, as long as there is no room to involve my kids, I will not accept it. I will never leave my kids for anybody to mistreat them. I promised to always be there for my children. I will never leave them or abandon them for no reason so far due to the experience I had and the problem I went through as a parent-less child. I vow that my kids will never ever go through that channel. Although I never had parents to cheer me up during my school activities, which was really disappointing for any child to go through, I want to change that perception. I want to be that parent who screamed as loud as she could when her kids had their school activities, for instance, sports, dance, or graduation. Even though I am aware that learning is better than silver and gold, I also don’t want to be the type of mother who has all the education in the world stuck in her head but misses the beautiful smile on her children’s face when she shows up in their school activities. It takes perseverance and strength to become a mother and wife.

I am married with two girls. My thirteen-year-old daughter was four by then, and my twenty-year-old was eleven. I was in a dilemma wherein I have to use my own judgment in order to make a wise decision that would not jeopardize my family. I then asked myself, Should I choose my education as the saying goes Learning is better than silver and gold, or should I choose my family? Well, the answer was simple. I believe family should always come first, and I have no regrets about my decisions. I enjoy every moment of my kids’ daily life activities because I was able to accompany my now thirteen-year-old on the first day of her pre-K school, which was very exciting and fun to be part of. I was also able to walk my now twenty-year-old to her first school dance competition. Yes, I am not just a