March 26, 2015
VIOLET MENGO
Mansa
THIS year, Elizabeth Musonda, 16, of Chinanda village in Mansa, should
have completed her secondary school and preparing to get to university.
Instead, she is preparing for her grade nine examinations in November.
“I was in grade nine when I got pregnant and the man responsible abandoned me. My parents were too disappointed to send me back to school after the birth of my baby,” Elizabeth said.
She had to wait three years before going back to school at Chakopo Primary School after moving from Chinanda village one of the areas with a high dropout rate due to pregnancies.
A number of young pregnant girls are seen in the village while others with babies strapped to their back carrying water from the shallow wells to their various homes. However, not many girls are as lucky as Elizabeth; most of them are unable to go back to school.
This is because they do not have enough money to pay school fees, while others do not believe in educating girls, especially after they fall pregnant.
There is still a strongly held belief in many areas of the country that girls are a source of wealth to their parents, who should be given away in marriage as soon as they reach puberty.
However, Chakopo Primary School stands out as an example in its efforts to address pregnancies and dropouts.
Through career guidance teachers, a day has been set aside where pupils learn and are able to exchange ideas among themselves and their teachers on how they wish certain issues should be handled, including sexual reproductive health lessons.
These efforts are slowly yielding results through the reduced number of girls falling pregnant and dropping out of school.
The school, which is situated about a kilometre from Mansa Post Office, is making an impact in the district by advocating for the protection of girls.
Through the Agents for Change programme that helps girls to understand their sexuality and other reproductive health issues, the school is recording a decline in the number of pregnancies each year.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with parents and career guidance teachers and has been doing well for the past few years.
Children are counselled on how they can delay their sexual debut. Girls are sensitised to understand their sexual reproductive health fully.
School headteacher Morgan Kasanda is an advocate against early pregnancies. He explained that the school was losing an average of three girls every year through pregnancies and urgent action was needed.
During a PTA meeting, it was decided to establish a joint action plan to ensure that girls had access to reproductive health information for them to make informed decisions.
With a number of activities that address the welfare of the girl child in relation with reproductive health and access to information, Mr Kasanda is pleased to note that female teachers have been instrumental in assisting girls grow up responsibly and focus on their education.
“We have also set up sub-committees where the school head boy and head girl have been incorporated. They participate in coming up with solutions that help girls,” he said.
With the involvement of young people it is amazing to see that some of the best solutions originate from them, the children are given topics which they are asked to research and later give an insight into the topic.
The guiding principle for the action plan has been the Child Protection Policy and the re-entry policy which was introduced by Government in 1997 with the aim of ensuring that girls who fell pregnant can go back to school to complete their education.
The policy is also aimed at ensuring each child is cherished and affirmed as a gift from God with an inherent right to dignity of life and bodily integrity to be respected, nurtured and protected by all.
Mr Kasanda, however, said there was need to review the re-entry policy because of some gaps that should be addressed.
And Jessy Chifunda, a teacher at the school, said teachers have challenges teaching girls on reproductive health because most of them are already aware of issues of sex due to technology.
Technological advancement has allowed girls to find out certain issues about reproductive health and sex activities on their own.
“The syllabus has well explained reproductive health sex and as teachers, we try to also simplify it to the level of children so that they understand it properly,” Ms Chifunda said.
Girls are also engaged in drama, poetry and songs to avoid them engaging or indulging in sexual activities.
Ms Chifunda said before a teacher embarks on any topic, children are taught life skills that involve discussing realities such as HIV and AIDS, sex and sexuality, abortion, defilement and hygiene.
And Ministry of Health spokesperson Reuben Mbewe says teenage pregnancies could be fatal because the girls’ bodies are not well-developed and are susceptible to complications at delivery.
“What is worrying is that most of these girls give birth at home under the care of traditional birth attendants who cannot provide specialised healthcare, they risk suffering from fistula, raptured uterus or unsafe abortion,” Dr Mbewe said.
Dr Mbewe who has encountered cases where a baby was too big for normal delivery said it is important that girls are sensitised about reproductive health and how to access information.
Early pregnancies are a rapidly growing social challenge that paints a gloomy picture to the realisation of the girl’s right to education.
When a young girl is educated, she is likely to earn a higher income, get married much later, delay child-bearing and have healthier children.
VIOLET MENGO
Mansa
THIS year, Elizabeth Musonda, 16, of Chinanda village in Mansa, should
have completed her secondary school and preparing to get to university.
Instead, she is preparing for her grade nine examinations in November.“I was in grade nine when I got pregnant and the man responsible abandoned me. My parents were too disappointed to send me back to school after the birth of my baby,” Elizabeth said.
She had to wait three years before going back to school at Chakopo Primary School after moving from Chinanda village one of the areas with a high dropout rate due to pregnancies.
A number of young pregnant girls are seen in the village while others with babies strapped to their back carrying water from the shallow wells to their various homes. However, not many girls are as lucky as Elizabeth; most of them are unable to go back to school.
This is because they do not have enough money to pay school fees, while others do not believe in educating girls, especially after they fall pregnant.
There is still a strongly held belief in many areas of the country that girls are a source of wealth to their parents, who should be given away in marriage as soon as they reach puberty.
However, Chakopo Primary School stands out as an example in its efforts to address pregnancies and dropouts.
Through career guidance teachers, a day has been set aside where pupils learn and are able to exchange ideas among themselves and their teachers on how they wish certain issues should be handled, including sexual reproductive health lessons.
These efforts are slowly yielding results through the reduced number of girls falling pregnant and dropping out of school.
The school, which is situated about a kilometre from Mansa Post Office, is making an impact in the district by advocating for the protection of girls.
Through the Agents for Change programme that helps girls to understand their sexuality and other reproductive health issues, the school is recording a decline in the number of pregnancies each year.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with parents and career guidance teachers and has been doing well for the past few years.
Children are counselled on how they can delay their sexual debut. Girls are sensitised to understand their sexual reproductive health fully.
School headteacher Morgan Kasanda is an advocate against early pregnancies. He explained that the school was losing an average of three girls every year through pregnancies and urgent action was needed.
During a PTA meeting, it was decided to establish a joint action plan to ensure that girls had access to reproductive health information for them to make informed decisions.
With a number of activities that address the welfare of the girl child in relation with reproductive health and access to information, Mr Kasanda is pleased to note that female teachers have been instrumental in assisting girls grow up responsibly and focus on their education.
“We have also set up sub-committees where the school head boy and head girl have been incorporated. They participate in coming up with solutions that help girls,” he said.
With the involvement of young people it is amazing to see that some of the best solutions originate from them, the children are given topics which they are asked to research and later give an insight into the topic.
The guiding principle for the action plan has been the Child Protection Policy and the re-entry policy which was introduced by Government in 1997 with the aim of ensuring that girls who fell pregnant can go back to school to complete their education.
The policy is also aimed at ensuring each child is cherished and affirmed as a gift from God with an inherent right to dignity of life and bodily integrity to be respected, nurtured and protected by all.
Mr Kasanda, however, said there was need to review the re-entry policy because of some gaps that should be addressed.
And Jessy Chifunda, a teacher at the school, said teachers have challenges teaching girls on reproductive health because most of them are already aware of issues of sex due to technology.
Technological advancement has allowed girls to find out certain issues about reproductive health and sex activities on their own.
“The syllabus has well explained reproductive health sex and as teachers, we try to also simplify it to the level of children so that they understand it properly,” Ms Chifunda said.
Girls are also engaged in drama, poetry and songs to avoid them engaging or indulging in sexual activities.
Ms Chifunda said before a teacher embarks on any topic, children are taught life skills that involve discussing realities such as HIV and AIDS, sex and sexuality, abortion, defilement and hygiene.
And Ministry of Health spokesperson Reuben Mbewe says teenage pregnancies could be fatal because the girls’ bodies are not well-developed and are susceptible to complications at delivery.
“What is worrying is that most of these girls give birth at home under the care of traditional birth attendants who cannot provide specialised healthcare, they risk suffering from fistula, raptured uterus or unsafe abortion,” Dr Mbewe said.
Dr Mbewe who has encountered cases where a baby was too big for normal delivery said it is important that girls are sensitised about reproductive health and how to access information.
Early pregnancies are a rapidly growing social challenge that paints a gloomy picture to the realisation of the girl’s right to education.
When a young girl is educated, she is likely to earn a higher income, get married much later, delay child-bearing and have healthier children.
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