Nanvule gives hope to teenage mothers

In the backyard of one of the residential houses in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District lies a host of teenage mothers racing against time to acquire skills in various entrepreneurial disciplines.
They attend the training sessions with enthusiasm and the jokes they crack during the sessions radiate their faces with big smiles. Their goal is become entrepreneurs and take care of their children considering that they are the sole breadwinners.
The teenage mothers are trained by Pelletier Teenage Mothers Foundation (PTMOF), a non-profit organisation. Founded by Solome Nanvule, a Ugandan social worker based in Toronto, Canada, she works with abused teenagers aged 14-18 years who have no place to call home.
Inspired by her previous experience as a teenage mother, Nanvule says she wants to give hope to teenage mothers. Although she is in Canada, Nanvule returns to Uganda every November to monitor the operations and progress of her initiative.

The start
“I was a teen mother but I was lucky to be sponsored by the Catholic priest, the late Fr. Raynald Pelletier, whom I named this organisation after. He served in Uganda for 32 years in the Catholic Church and he was responsible for teenage mothers. He took me to Canada when he retired and enrolled me under the teens programme. This is how I got inspired. The trauma I suffered as a teen mother is what drives me to empower women to be financially independent,” she recollects.
When she conceived the idea in 2011, after mobilising meagre funds from her friends in Canada, little did she know that the project would grow into a solid organisation.
Although she started with only five girls in her late mother’s backyard, the numbers have since increased, with at least 50 teen mothers enrolled every six months. Records show that at least 350 teen mothers have acquired skills from PTMOF since 2011.
“We have a salon and tailoring classes. For each phase, we admit 50 teen mothers who graduate after six months. We have also acquired five acres of land in Luweero where we hope to relocate in the near future,” she says.
Nanvule says some teenage mothers hardly complete the six-month course because they have babies to attend to, something that makes it hard for them to concentrate.
Upon completion, each successful candidate is given capital in form of equipment such as hair dryers and sewing machines. The organisation also undertakes continuous monitoring to ensure beneficiaries optimise skills and equipment for the intended goal.
“Trainees are taught to make bags, dresses, books, sandals, uniforms, among other items, which they hawk in shops within their communities. I help them find market for their products in Canada. We are also teaching them how to make liquid soap and baking. However, many trainees opt for hair dressing because there is quick money and the business can be done from home, without incurring rent fees,” Nanvule says.

How they are identified
Nanvule says that since the organisation is registered as a Community Based Organisation (CBO), local leaders, police, and members of the community identify teenage mothers who need support.
She says she also invests in radio and television talk shows, where she discusses teenage pregnancy matters. She is happy to impact lives of people positively through offering entrepreneurial skills.

Challenges.
Although Nanvule wishes to bring culprits to book, she reveals that it is hard to track them. “Most men deny pregnancies, making it costly for us to undertake DNA tests for most of the trainees. We rely on donations, especially from people living in the diaspora to support teenage mothers.”
She says: “I appeal to government to help teenage mothers by apprehending men responsible for pregnancies because most times, we condemn girls before we prove whether the girl consented to sex or not. Ministry of Gender should reach out to such inititaives and support young mothers”.
To raise more funding, Nanvule has also organised an expo dubbed home is best agriculture and business expo scheduled for April 9-11 2020 in Toronto, Canada. She says 30 per cent of the proceeds from the expo will go to the initiative.

Saudah Natukunda, 20, Beneficiary
“I have completed a hairdressing short course and I am ready to start my own salon. The father of my child abandoned me when I was seven months pregnant. This was one of the toughest moments for me. I am happy that this organisation welcomed me with open hands and has empowered us with skills. I believe I will not live a miserable life anymore with such a skill.”

Hamidah Natoro, 22, Beneficiary
“A friend recommended this training centre and I decided to sign up. I can comfortably say, I am now ready to make money by putting the skills I have acquired to good use. The time I have spent at PTMOF has been rewarding. I am grateful to the founder of this organisation”.
According to UNICEF, approximately 35 per cent of girls drop out of school because of early marriages and 23 per cent do so because of early pregnancy (Unicef, 2015).
The 2015 UNICEF findings also reveal that the teenage pregnancy rate is 24 per cent with regional variations. This increases to 34 per cent in the poorest households.
In rural areas, 24 per cent of girls experience early pregnancy compared to 16 per cent of wealthier households and 21 per cent of urban girls.