Margret was 13 when she watched classmates drop out of school because of teenage pregnancy, some of them into early marriage. In Wiaga, many girls never completed junior high school, and Margret feared it was only a matter of time before her own dream of becoming a nurse faded too.
NABOCADO’s Child Health Improvement project set out to improve the health of school children and young people in 20 communities of the Diocese, including Wiaga, and to reduce illness, child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Working with local health workers and teachers, the project ran workshops and awareness sessions for adolescent girls on hygiene, puberty, menstrual hygiene, family planning, sexually transmitted infections, and their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Margret and her friends Francisca, Prudence and Wontemah took part eagerly. They learned about self-care, making informed choices and protecting themselves from risks.
“The project has increased my knowledge on adolescence. I learnt that teenage pregnancy will delay my studies or spoil my future.”
The project also tackled the things that kept girls out of the classroom. Girls facing financial hardship received school supplies, and the community formed Child Health Improvement committees to make Wiaga a safer place for girls to grow up. Parents and community leaders were brought into the conversation about supporting adolescent girls.
“Issues of teenage pregnancy have reduced drastically. Currently, we are working with four communities, and three of them have recorded zero teenage pregnancy. The community volunteers formed by the project helped us with health education and tracing of cases.”
Today Margret, Francisca, Prudence, Wontemah and many other girls in Wiaga attend school more regularly. Determined to complete their education, they are becoming role models for the girls who come after them.
Part of the Child Health Improvement project of NABOCADO’s Health Directorate, funded by Kindermissionswerk ‘Die Sternsinger’, Germany.
Story and photos: Moses Apana Apobona, NABOCADO Media & Communications.