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NGO rescues teenage mothers
LifeAgain, a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in the Upper West Region of Ghana has come to the rescue of some out-of-school teenage mothers whose hope of continuing with their education would have been dashed because of early pregnancy.
As the name implies, LifeAgain, the NGO has taken upon itself to provide the necessary educational materials to these young mothers to get them back to school to continue with their education so that they do not become burden to their parents and society.
The Chief Executive Officer, Ms Saudatu Mohammed said that her organisation usually identified girls between 12 and 20 years who had given birth under economic hardship, and assisted them to either go back to school or learn a trade.
According to her, the activities of LifeAgain had made positive impact in the lives of some teenage mothers in the region who would have been liability rather than asset.
Addressing a conference of teenage mothers here recently, Ms. Saudatu Mohammed said that a lot of young girls endured maltreatment as a result of unplanned pregnancies, and called on donors to support her laudable project.
Some beneficiaries shared their experiences on what triggered their engagement in early sex leading to pregnancy.
The emotional flame was sparked by 19-year-old Ms. Saudatu who explained that growing up as a young girl with parents who cared less about her well-being, she had to wash bowls for food vendors at the Wa Central market to raise money to buy books and other school items.
“I did this job until junior high two when I met a young man who proposed to me and offered to assist me financially and I was excited that he gave me GH₵5.00 daily so that I didn’t have to go to the market anymore to wash bowls”, she said.
She stated that at some point, she felt obliged to meet the sexual needs of this “good Samaritan” who later became her boyfriend and got her pregnant.
She said she had to run away from her parents to her boyfriend who had moved to a different district because her parents wanted her to abort the pregnancy as a result of differences in religion between her and the boyfriend.
“Staying with a jobless man was real hell for a pregnant woman like me because sometimes I would wake up the whole day and not get food to eat; I didn’t want to go back to my parents because they would force me to undergo abortion”, she narrated.
Saudatu explained that luck shone on her after delivery, when LifeAgain visited her community and she was enrolled as an apprentice of a dressmaker in the area, saying even though things were still difficult for her, she was hopeful that if she passed out, she could make a living for herself and the child who was now two years old.
Also, a 17-year-old Hidaya through peer influence started an early sexual relation with a man who got her pregnant at age 15.
Apparently, she conceived at Junior High school form two and was advised by friends to either abort the pregnancy or run away from home in order to escape scorn and shame.
“I stuck to my guns because I really wanted to go to school and I actually did not do away with the pregnancy, amidst scorn, shame and mockery from friends; people mockedand shamed me publicly and pointed fingers at me but I still went to school till I delivered in form three and could no longer go to school”, she said.
She indicated that after delivery, she went back to school and registered for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and scored aggregate 26 after the exam.
“My elder brother took care of me till delivery. I heard of LifeAgain through someone and contacted them to help me further my education at the senior high school (SHS)”, she said.
Hidaya said the NGO got her books, school uniforms and everything else she needed to go back to school and said her brother also helped in taking care of the child.
“Even at the new school, some of my old friends from JHS who knew I got pregnant have told the others that I had a child, so my mates still make mockery of me but I don’t care because I really want to utilise this opportunity to study hard and complete the school”.
“The father of my child tried to get me to abort the pregnancy and when she refused, he employed the help of friends to make fun of me and called me a school ‘drop-out’.
“Because of these people, I really want to do well in life; I want to show them that having a child does not mean I am useless so I don’t care whatever others say, I am determined to complete my education”, she said.
An 18-year-old mother of one narrating her ordeal also said she was forced into an early relationship as a result of marital problems at home.
“My mother was 19 years when she had me out of wedlock and when she finally got married, the husband made me his rival and did not want to have anything to do with me”, she said.
She said her step-father stopped her mother from providing for her needs so she had to fend for herself with the hope of completing at least JHS before she left her mother’s house.
She narrated that she endured days of intense hunger and had to use rags as sanitary pad, a situation she said made her stay out of school for days she had her menstrual period.
“I moved to our house in the village after JHS and worked at a drinking spot to save money for SHS, but I met a guy who used to give me money and ended up sleeping with me” she narrated and said she had to drop out after first term at the SHS when she discovered she was pregnant.
Since the man was not ready to help, she said she had to fend for herself and suffer days of hunger and poverty so much so that she could not even afford diapers for the baby.
“I met LifeAgain, the NGO that trained me on how to make liquid soap which I vend to take care of myself and my son but I am still hoping to get back to school”, she said.
Rounding up the discussion, a camerawoman in the region, Ms Martiuna Masoonoo Zabog encouraged the girls not to give up regardless of their circumstances.
The young lady who became a mother at age 17 and wrote her final exam at the SHS with six months old pregnancy said friends mocked her, family rejected her and she was called all sort of names but she was determined to weather the storm and make a life for herself and her son.
“Sometimes when these things happen, people call the girl all sort of names without understanding and addressing the root causes such as poverty, broken homes, lack of parental care and peer pressure”, she said and advised the girls to stay away from deceitful men.
Other women mentors at the programme charged the girls on to make use of the opportunity made available to them by LifeAgain to get a substantive living for themselves and their wards.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
