Stop teenage pregnancy

Organizing a campaign 

Organizing a campaign is a hustle, but organizing a campaign during world-wide pandemic... we managed. 

Actually, to be honest, the covid restrictions were just something that we head to deal with at the last minute and that's why it became an issue. Changing location, getting permission, following the rules etc...We tried our best but we had to admit that this had an impact on the event. It is because we didn't get as much publicity as we would've wanted. However, organizing anything during these times is a wonder itself, so we are grateful for it. In addition, we had media coverage, which was a new thing for me. Radio, tv, newspapers. And I remember one of the WEFOCO women group chair ladies being so happy for having friends calling her and telling her she was on tv :) 

But what's it all about? 

During the pandemic the schools in Kenya were closed, which left a lot of teenagers idling. Teens were sent back home from boarding to help around the house and do some small work for the family. A lot of the families were scared and worried and had to push their children to find any kind of jobs. There are many sides to this story. One is teens idling and having unprotected sex. The other is that it's common in rural areas for girls to find boys to be the providers for the family, a lot of them started to look to create their own families. Since it was not sure when the schools will open and anyhow the whole situation was very uncertain for the whole world. Of course, we can't change the social norms with one campaign but we can do our part in contributing towards the change and raise awareness of the situation.

Teenage pregnancies is something that needs to be talked about and addressed, as very often the girls are left raising their children alone and don't have enough financial stability. This causes a lot of distress to the families and mental health issues for the girls. Some families abandon their children when such things happen and also dropping out of school is very common in these situations. We have seen some small changes and some schools letting their students to continue, which raises hope for the change to happen.

Before having the campaign we were reading the news and talking with communities - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-teenage-pregnancie-idUSKBN27W11H 

Not because of the campaign but one of our program kid was also pregnant and we can happily say that she has returned to school and is helped to raise the child by her mother.   

 

The campaign 

We organized the campaign for youths for them to learn about different ways to protect themselves. We were talking about reproductive health and changes in the body and mind. We also included free HIV testing and counseling, which is always an important topic to raise awareness on. We had motivational speakers, show for the youths and a teenage mother to share her experience. Again, one of the WEFOCO women group chair ladies told me that it was the first time she saw something like that happening and heard this kind of stories shared, which was really eye-opening for her. That we are allowed to share and talk about "taboo" with our youths. It was a big deal for her, since she has a lot of orphans and single parents in her group, who she feels responsible for. 

To attract the youths we came up (Andreia to be precise) with the logo "COME INTO THE CIRCLE". It aimed to attract to join the safe circle of smart and educated teens, who know how to protect themselves and support each other and feel free to talk about their health and social norms. In the end, the shared feedback was encouraging and we were happy to see youths around Shianda gathering and enjoying good time. The show was something that I think many of them hadn't seen in a while and it was a great day for them to sing and dance and learn something meanwhile.