Kenya National Youth Service Director General Matilda Sakwa has raised concern over increasing cases of pregnancy among service women at National Youth Service Training centres.
Speaking at Turbo NYS Training College in Likuyani Sub County, Sakwa said despite the success displayed by service women, the rate of pregnancy among them was disturbing and needed immediate attention.
The DG directed commanding officers in all NYS colleges to interrogate and evaluate the existing management and embrace strategies that help control the pregnancy menace.
“I want to urge our commanding officers to interrogate and evaluate management styles in order to come up with working solutions,” said Sakwa
She blamed too many trips by service women outside their colleges to seek medication as one of the areas that should be looked into.
“I wonder why our service women do not use protection if they find it inevitable to engage in sexual activities,” she said.
The DG noted that there were very many dangerous effects associated with unprotected sex insisting they will not shy away from talking about it.
“Other than unwanted pregnancies, we have HIV/AIDS, Syphilis and other STIS,” Sakwa warned NYS competing teams drawn from Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, Rift Valley and Western Regions.
She asked the young service men and women to protect their bodies because the country and the entire world still needed their services.
“I always find it disturbing whenever service women are compelled to separate from service on account of pregnancy more so when they are in their last stages of their training,” she said.
Sakwa also revealed that cases of drug abuse were finding their way to NYS colleges. She directed commanding officers in charge of colleges to ensure service women and men were protected from drugs.
DG pleaded with NYS management colleges to uphold highest standards of discipline, a virtue that always define them.
