Bududa grapples with teenage pregnancies

Bududa District, nestled with its picturesque landscape, lies a heart-wrenching reality that belies the beauty it exudes.

Behind the lush greens and scenic views, the district grapples with a rising crisis of young mothers and teenage pregnancies.

This is the troubling reality that casts a shadow on the lives of its young girls, pushing them into a world of challenges and shattered dreams. Some of the girls this publication talked to are still minors and therefore won’t reveal their identities. 

One of such girls is 16-years-old. At her age, Joan should have been eagerly attending school, soaking up knowledge and building dreams of her future.

However, she has been one of those looking out for handouts from well-wishers.  

She stands amidst hundreds of young mothers and pregnant teenagers seeking help. While she is carrying a child of two years, she is already six months pregnant again. 

The harsh reality of poverty forced her into early marriage at a tender age of 14. 

“I so much wanted to study but my family couldn’t afford it. The only alternative was to get married,” Joan says.

The lack of knowledge about family planning has left her and her 22-year-old husband without any plans for their future family.

When asked how many children she would like to have, Joan can only leave it to fate, saying: “I don’t know, its God who knows. I cannot decide on that.”

Her story is mirrored by countless other girls in Bududa District, whose aspirations for education and personal growth are cut short by societal expectations and financial hardships. Among the many others sharing similar tales of hardship is 16-year-old Namono, who dropped out of school as a Primary Six pupil and became a mother at the age of 14.

Her family settled on a man for marriage in exchange for a meagre sum, which shattered her education dreams.

Namono had a dream of becoming a midwife but that was shattered, and she was left with the burden of caring for her two-year old daughter. She also lacks financial means to resume her studies. She says her family asked her to choose between her marriage and a child who is due to join nursery school or her education.

“My parents have said they cannot afford to educate me. They have told me to stop thinking about going back to school and concentrate on educating my child. I am stuck,” she says.

Liz, a 17-year-old from Nabusela Village, Kikolo Town Council in Bududa District was impregnated by a 37-year-old man, after she dropped out of Senior Four due to financial constraints.

She says after the failure of her parents to raise money for her to join a vocational school, she was entrapped in poverty and swayed by the man as she could not afford her basic needs.

“My family could not afford to buy the basic needs I wanted as a young girl such as underwear and sanitary towels. I found solace in this man who looked genuine,” she says.

Similarly,  Mary, an 18-year-old Senior One drop out, is seven months pregnant and cites lack of knowledge about family planning as the reason behind her unintended pregnancy.

“I lacked guidance as a young girl. I had no idea about family planning and a man took advantage of me,” she says, adding that she wishes to return to school after giving birth.

Ms Sandra Caroline Woguti, the director of Elgon Ebenezer, a young mothers’ organisation that helps to integrate some of the girls that have dropped out of school back, says they help them with basic needs to start life afresh.

She, however, added that most parents in the rural areas view a girl-child as a source of wealth, considering the bride price  they can get from marrying them off.
 
“Some parents have made girls a business, especially when a girl gets pregnant when she is below 18. We need to sensitise them to change their perceptions,” she says.  She adds that Parliament should pass a Bill on sexuality education as measure to fill the information gap and save the girl-child.

“They practice sex, however much we want to pretend. So teaching them family planning early will prevent more teen pregnancies than leaving them, especially in this digital age,” she says.

She adds: “We start from upper primary because the girls from the villages get pregnant from Primary Five, upwards. Most of them don’t know that if you have sex, you can get pregnant. They are ignorant, that’s why they need information,” she says.

Mr Milton Kamoti Wasunguyi, the district chairperson, has also expressed concern over the alarming rate of young mothers in Bududa. He points to poverty as a driving force behind the many teenage pregnancies in the district.

“We are very much worried as a district and it’s very alarming. Our young girls are being married off at a very young age. We are appealing to parents to have a mindset change because some of them encourage children to get married so that they can benefit from bride price, even if the girl is below the age of 18,” he says.

Mr David Muwoya Wekhoola, the District Inspector of Schools, says the school dropout rate in the district is at 9 percent.

He says the district has established a full office of welfare to ensure that pregnant girls can go back to school after delivering.

“We have a unit at Mayiya Primary School where we integrate these young mothers into school so that they don’t face stigma,” he says.

He also says reason the girls are getting pregnant is because of poverty.

“When they lack sanitary pads, they feel embarrassed because of menstrual hygiene. They end up being swayed by older men,” he says.

Police response
Mr Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Region Police spokesman, says the sub-counties with the highest number of teenage mothers are Bufuma, Bukiyi, Mabono and Nunabutiti.

He says the issue of teenage pregnancies and young mothers is very serious in the district and calls for collective effort.

“Our investigations indicate that guardians of these children are the ones forcing girls into early marriages. The vice is criminal and culprits, if caught, the culprit can be prosecuted accordingly without fear or favour,” he says.

He adds that the challenge at hand is that parents of the impregnated child only report to police after failing to agree during negations with parents of the boy or man. 

“We are making sure we go to different communities and schools to sensitise them. We are discouraging parents from forcing their children to get married when they are below the age of consent,” he says. 

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