Parents in collaboration with the departments of Education and Gender in the County government of Bungoma have combined efforts to ensure that all girls who get pregnant get back to school after delivery as a way of helping them in their future.
Addressing more than 500 teen mothers in Mukhweya primary school in Kabuchai Constituency, CEC in the department of Gender, Culture, Youths and Sports in Bungoma County, Engineer Agnes Wachiye said as a government they have put up measures to ensure that all teen mothers find an opportunity of realizing their dreams, urging parents to make use of Vocational Training Centres to help the girls get skills to depend on themselves in future.
She said as Bungoma County was ranked number one in the country in teenage pregnancies cases and Chesikaki ward leading, she suggested having a stakeholder’s engagement forum where they started in Mt Elgon and met various leaders in different departments and the main agenda was to establish the cause of teen pregnancies. They held another meeting in Kanduyi at Bungoma KMTC where they invited Bungoma County MP’s spouses who also came with teen mothers from their Constituencies.
They held another meeting in Sirisia Constituency, where the Governor tasked ward administrators to ensure accurate data collection of teen mothers in their areas, the exact cause and report in the department of Gender for intervention.
She added that the main agenda is to ensure that the teen mothers go back to schools; primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.
As they received a report from Bungoma Central Sub County admin and gender officer, showing that 384 girls are teen mothers and some are pregnant that led them to hold a meeting in Mukhweya Primary school and talked to them whereby 167 accepted to go back to school and others to Vocational Training Centres .
Her sentiments were echoed by CEC for Trade and Industry Caro Makali who also wanted the teen mothers to benefit from the education sponsored by the County and national governments in various institutions citing Technical institutions revealing how the County of Bungoma has offered itself to push the agenda of education for teen mothers.
Nominated MCA Metrine Nangila who was also a teen mother said she got pregnant while in fourth form but didn’t see it as the end of her life, she didn’t despair but went back to school and completed her studies, trained as a tailor, worked as a quality controller in a certain company, ventured into business then joined politics where she was nominated on a Ford Kenya ticket in 2022.
She encouraged the teen mothers that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and wanted them not to lose self esteem but focus on what they want in life and make their dreams true as she told them to love themselves.
She said that she wanted to become a news anchor but she won’t regret losing such an opportunity as she thanked her parents for supporting her by taking her back to school and made her become who she is today.
She told parents to give a second chance to their children who are victims not to discourage them but embrace them and give them opportunities to continue with their studies for their own good.
She thanked the area MCA who mentioned that as Bungoma County Assembly they have plans to allocate money to support such initiatives in their budget.
She also told parents to be close to their children so that they can give them an ear to listen to their problems and not to fall victims of teenage pregnancies.
One of the teen mothers who got pregnant while in form two and went back to school after delivery and sat for KCSE in 2023 encouraged her fellow girls not to fall victims too since those who impregnate them are never responsible instead leave them suffer in the hands of their parents.
She urged leaders and well wishers to help her join tertiary college or university according to how she would have performed.
Teen mothers were given personal kits to sustain them.
