Project Detail: Usiwahi na ka ushawai si End ya Life
A swahili word dubbed to mean in direct translation (Dont you get pregnant,but if you have its not the end of life.)
The idea behind the campaign is to have a catchy comfortable way of saying , “Please dont get involved in risky sexual behaviours,but if you do so and in the end get pregnant,that is not the end of life.”
The reasoning behind the slogan is first we are dealing with teens who have their own way of commnuication and sheng being the order of the day,for a programme to be accepted by them it has to be coined in their language.
Disclaimer:We do not advocate for teen sex or pregnancy,nor are we supporting the fact that teens should get pregnant knowingly since it’s not the end of life,rather in the unforseen event that happens and cases of suicidal behaviours are rampant during this season,we are playing safe in reduction of abortions or premature deaths by suicide by engaging them in mentorship, walk with them in the journey of parenthood by preparing them psychologically for the same.
The 3 stage campaign gave birth to teen pregnancy awareness programme which substitutes to the name of the Organisation:-
- Before Pregnancy – Mentorship is an important angle of any youth,and the best time to engage them is when in school moreso Primary school or before their adolescent stage to educate them on the unavoidable growth,body changes and immediate emotion control.In the same sessions we also handle the ones going through adolescents (generally between class 6-8) empowering them on skills and reading ideas to help them perform well in their school work but also warn and direct them on better ways to avoid dangerous sexual activities.Secondary school and universities are not left out in this mentorship and generally we help them make healthy decisions to enable them achieve their dreams.
- During Pregnancy – Often than not sadly this situation is unavoidable and we get to mobilise and talk to teens who are already pregnant.Some whom we might have mentored in school but its not a discouragement but rather a challenge we take whole heartedly.During this phase we talk to them on healthy living considering the new growth happening within them,using proffesional councillors to help them not end up suicidal and better still connect them to clinics for antenatal visits.We keep a keen eye on them to make sure that the pregnancy can be brought to term.This phase we have a teen pregnant parental cafe which is an idea that helps them meet once in a week to discuss amongst themselves the challenges they undergoing,the dreams they still have and solutions they can apply after giving birth.
- After Pregnancy – With a new baby the teens are faced with a lot of challenges all emanating from new parenthood responsibilities.Most if not all apart from the once being supported by their parents or counterpart,have no money for pampers,nor clothes,food to eat and in unique situations shelter.We act to network them with help from organisations that deal with teen mothers,purchase them pampers for a duration of 6 months and introduce them to programmmes on child care giving.
We also train them on entrepreneurship ,financial literacy to help them with small business opening,help them get funds via micro finance and train them on table banking,all this checking on their sustainability in the future.Since not all are viable for business some wish to get back to school and continue with their education,while others are talented on different aspects hence we network them with other organisations dealing with the same.This is always to make sure all loopholes of loosing any of them are covered.