RESTORE HOPE TO GIRLS THAT FALL VICTIMS OF EARLY PREGNANCIES 

From the time  Uganda and the entire world was hit with the hopeless Covid-19 pandemic. A lot of events have happened in the lives of different people at different stages of life. This has not left girls behind especially with the closure of schools by the President of Uganda in March 2020. This  calls for the need to restore hope to girls that have been victims of early pregnancies. This did not leave different societies at peace most especially girl children. Some cultures in Uganda got an excuse of marrying off teenage girls. They claim that girls no longer have an opportunity of going back to school. Even the few who had hope were disappointed by the overwhelming numbers of teenage pregnancy rates. This  became a pandemic of its own.

This has resulted into after-effects. They include school dropouts, early marriage, family breakdown, hopelessness, suicide cases, stigma, to mention but a few.

Here are some of the key facts from World Health Organization

• Approximately 12 m girls aged 15–19 years and at least 777,000 girls under 15 years give birth each year in developing regions.
• At least 10 million unintended pregnancies occur each year among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in the developing world.
• Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for 15–19-year-old girls globally.
• Of the estimated 5.6 million abortions that occur each year among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years, 3.9 million are unsafe, contributing to maternal mortality, morbidity and lasting health problems.
• Adolescent mothers (ages 10–19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years, and babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery and severe neonatal conditions.

Our Intervention

With such overwhelming and shocking numbers, should we sit down and remain silent about the rising issues?

Kayden Foundation believes in a collective effort in addressing such problems which is why it is continuously advocating for individuals, parents, local council leaders, schools and other stakeholders to strengthen and spread as far as their potential the message of “NO TO EARLY PREGNANCIES.”  We believe that when we are dealing with the problem of teenage pregnancies we have to start from the grass root.

We should not neglect the fact that some girls some of whom are our sisters, aunts, friends, name it have already fallen victims of the circumstance. The overwhelming numbers of teenage pregnancies especially during the covid-19 lockdown are a true testimony of reluctance of all the parties in battling the problem.

We are running sensitization campaigns throughout the communities to ensure that  the spread of the message does not harm those who have already fallen victims. Kayden Foundation Uganda intends to restore hope to girls who have already lost school by telling them that one can still continue with their studies even after they have given birth.

We equip the young mothers with childcare support knowledge hoping that shaping their lives is itself a message to those who have not fallen victims.

“Talk to a girl child, restore her hope, they are mothers of the nation.”