When Covid-19 struck the country and the Government initiated a protocol to curb its spread including closing schools, the school girls under the age of 19 years became casualties of unwanted pregnancies risking their continuity of their education.
In Machakos County alone, Kenya health Information System found that at least 3,964 girls under the age of 19 years were pregnant during the first three months of the national partial lockdown.
The worrying trend sent shivers down the spines of parents in the County but a well wisher came knocking with training programs that seeks to impact life skills to the young girls in a bid to reverse the pregnancy trend.
We pitched a tent at Kyeleni Catholic Church in Matungulu, Machakos County where hundreds of teenage girls were graduating after successfully completing 2 month training courtesy of Plan International, an NGO keen on advancing interests of the girl child and entire humanity.
According to Winfred Wambui, the program officer in the child protection division at the Plan International Machakos County chapter, the program aimed at boosting the capacity of the young girls so that they are able to change their behavior.
The two months program exposed the young girls to life skills to enable them abstain to sexual activities, drug abuse among other aspects in a program dubbed, ‘stop violence against girls’
It came out clear from the graduates that most of the parents were ignorant of the fact that they should be offering education to their children but instead they were exposing them to prey.
15 years old Francisca Mwikali and a form 2 student revealed that parents were not keen on providing sanitary towels to girls an issue that exposed them to sexual relationships to get the much needed commodities but instead prioritized providing food for the family
“When you ask your parents for a sanitary towel, they will tell you that they are only able to buy you food. Now this makes one look for a boyfriend who can provide the towels and in the process many girls get pregnant” said Mwikali.
It played out in an open way that most parents, mostly men were engaging in alcohol consumption hence were not keen on their children. Other factors related to teen pregnancies according to Mwikali include peer pressure and poor parenting.
The graduands were awarded with participation certificates, books and other incentives.