At 19 years old and without the support of her family nor her ex-husband, Lada Koroleva took care of her two little babies and, as she had no one to leave them with. They accompanied her while she delivered food on the streets of Moscow (Russia). Now, Lada has quit and is looking for a job to work from home.
Being a mother is never easy, and single mothers have it even harder, as in several cases they have to work more than one job a day to make ends meet. Add childcare to that load and you have a cocktail of exhaustion and resignation that only a few can endure.
We introduce you to Lada Koroleva, a girl from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, who struggled every day to earn her keep by delivering food. Lada was working with her two daughters, a two-year-old and the other merely a baby, as she had no one to leave them with at home.
FB: Lada Koroleva
In the last few days, several photos of the young woman with her daughters riding the subway have been circulating. In one of them, she appears with an enormous food delivery backpack on and with a small child in each hand. It’s an image that shows great courage and patience.
It turns out that Lada has gone through a tough time. She’s suffered abandonment by her family and partner in the past. The young woman didn’t want to leave her little ones at home as her husband – and father of both children – spent his quarantine days playing video games all the time and didn’t look after the little ones.
FB: Lada Koroleva
It all started when Lada was 17 years old and became the mother of little Angelina in her native Rostov-on-Don. There, she was known as «the Delivery Mom«, as she performed a similar job, delivering food and pushing a stroller around at the same time. Not long after, she moved to Moscow and continued to work in delivery, as seen in the picture.
The young woman received help from people in the form of food and baby products, such as diapers and toys. The situation with her husband reached a point that she could no longer stand, and she left him shortly after giving birth to her second daughter.
FB: Lada Koroleva
Lada’s photos went viral, and with it, emerged the first doubts from individuals who said that the girl was taking advantage of her daughters and her popularity on social media to swindle people and benefit financially from the situation. She responded that everyone was welcome to visit Moscow and see the situation she was living in, if that would help them believe her.
However, eventually the situation reached a point of no return and, for various reasons, Lada ended up quitting her job. In the last few weeks, she’s worked any job that has come her way.
FB: Lada Koroleva
«People started condemning me, saying that it was my fault for spending time with my daughters. Even social security services started getting involved. On top of that, the delivery company was usually late with my salary payments, violating food delivery worker rights.”
said Lada Koroleva to BoredPanda
Lada says that she currently lives in a one-bedroom apartment and is looking for remote work so she can stay at home to take care of her girls. She says that she’s met many people as a delivery worker who’ve helped her by offering her jobs cleaning apartments or as a nanny but that she wants something permanent to settle down for a while.
FB: Lada Koroleva
The maternal survival instinct is truly powerful and, although Lada’s life has been full of obstacles and sadness, it’s really moving to see such a young girl so determined to provide a better life for her daughters.