Student takes in pregnant teen cousin

A 23-year-old sprinter training for the Commonwealth Games has become an internet sensation after dropping everything to become a legal guardian to his estranged, pregnant cousin who had been living rough on the streets.

Australian Tommy Connolly had not been in contact with his near illiterate 16-year-old cousin for a decade but became reunited via Facebook where he learned of her hardship.

He discovered the former drug addict was homeless and 32 weeks pregnant. The father of the child is serving a prison sentence. Both her parents were addicted to heroin, she had no clothes, no food and no shelter.

The student athlete at the University of the Sunshine Coast made moves to become her legal guardian and they have moved into a new home together.

“I became the legal foster parent for her to make sure she’d keep the baby, stay off the streets and have a better life,” he said.

He has since been bombarded by well-wishers and $32,000 (€23,200) has been raised on a GoFundMe fundraising page.

“Obviously I’m not going to let her stay on the streets.

“Everyone likes to tell me this is such a big responsibility, but I wasn’t thinking about uni or work or anything, all I was doing was thinking she needed me.”

Because Mr Connolly was on university holidays at the time he had been working full time in his job at a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.

He used his $2,800 (€2,000) to cover the expense of finding a new house and buying items for the baby.

“I’ve spent the last few months working, moving houses, having meetings with different departments, signing forms, being assessed and monitored, chasing funds, setting up her bank accounts, buying baby stuff, furniture, going to hospital/doctor appointments, and getting her settled in.”

When the girl went into labour, Connolly was by her side and even cut the umbilical cord himself. The baby boy is now four weeks old.

His brother Liam set up a crowdfunding page after hearing the story.

“Tommy doesn’t like to tell people this but every week he puts away a little bit of money for our cousin and her baby so that eventually she will have enough to live on her own and take care of them both.

“[He] has stepped in and broken the cycle single-handedly but the road ahead will be difficult.”

Mr Connolly said he didn’t make the decision to become famous, but his story had gone viral on social media with messages of support from around the globe.