 | Stories from the field
Issues that have been brought up during YMEP activities in Kenya.
Young mother with no body knowledge
A case story presented by a service provider.
I was in the health facility when a pregnant woman, 21 years old, came to deliver. She was in severe labour when I directed her to the delivery bed. Before the baby passed, urine came out and she thought it was the head of the baby. Later, after delivery, the woman asked me if something was wrong with her body mechanism. I was amazed that at her age, she did not know that the baby and urine follow different channels. This is reason enough to expose young people to their body anatomy at an early age, in the same way that they are informed of other body parts."
Received sex for help with school assignment
A case story presented by a youth in school.
I am a total orphan. I was about 10 years old when my aunt took me to Tanzania to live there and go to school. I was a bright pupil and loved anything related to numbers. All my classmates envied me for my brilliance. One day, we were given an assignment to do in mathematics. An older female who was my acquaintance approached me and requested that I assist her by showing her how to solve the problems. I asked her what she would give me if I assisted her. She then promised that she would give me a very sweet thing, which could not be disclosed until I had showed her. I consented not knowing the reward. After taking her through the exercise in the evening at school, I demanded the reward. She assured me the gift was available as we trekked back home. We soon walked near a bush where she led me saying the sweet thing was hidden there. I then noticed her removing her inner pants and did not know what to expect. She pulled me closer to her and removed my shorts and we had sex. That is how I learned about sexual intercourse. We continued relating sexually until I moved back to Kenya. From the lessons given in this training, I don’t think I would be interested in engaging in sexual intercourse again, knowing the risks involved."
Followed them into the woods
A case story presented by a youth in school, captured from a teachers' review meeting in Kenya.
I was the only boy in our family, and the youngest. I loved going to the forest with my older sisters and cousins whenever they went to fetch firewood. What puzzled me is that every time we went, they would insist on leaving me with the already gathered firewood, claiming they were moving further into the forest to get the bigger pieces of wood. One day as they left me, I decided to follow them, because I was tired of having to wait long hours before they returned. There were older boys in the forest, so I stood at a distance to avoid getting noticed. I then saw the group having sexual intercourse and they were producing groaning sounds indicating that it was nice. I moved closer and requested the boys to also give me a chance to experience the same. I was given a chance and that is how I learned it although I did not enjoy anything. Since then, I have never tried it again."
Parents of girl refused to report attempted rape
A case story told by a teacher in Nyando district, B1 Primary school Chemelil.
Our school borders sugar cane plantations within Muhoroni Division. It was on a weekend and I was passing near the school when I heard some girls screaming for help. Two school girls had been washing their feet next to one of the sugarcane farms just after rains. An older man who was pushing a bicycle from the farm confronted the girls and demanded to know why they were making the water dirty. He threatened the girls as he dragged them into the farm. Luckily, another school girl who was at a distance noticed that her friends were in trouble and ran to the community, alerting them of the incident.
In the meantime, the man decided to release the younger girl after threatening her and cautioning her not to tell anybody. He remained with the older girl. Soon, the community members surrounded the place, looking for the man. He released the girl and disappeared into the farm lands. The girl survived without any injury and therefore the community members dispersed. I stood at a distance watching things unfold.
Realizing these were my pupils, I decided to take further steps because this was an attempted rape with a possibility of recurrence. We walked with the girl to the nearest police station and reported the incident. To my dismay, the girls parents came to me with five hundred shillings telling me to drop the case since it had been sorted out at family level. I refused to take the money and remained perplexed. They even reminded me not to bother about the girls because after all they were not my children. That was how the case ended: without the rapist being taken to court. Within the YMEP project, how do we deal with such cases? Reply from teacher at Ogen secondary and primary schools:
Yes, there are many rape cases within our community and we need to know how to deal with them. At Kopere centre, we have had cases where someone rapes his relative and as you move to intervene, you are reminded not to pock your nose because it does not concern you. We need to sensitize the community members to appreciate the dangers of rape. Civil society organizations dealing with legal issues should help us."
Dealing with forced prostitution and pregnancies among pupils
A case story told by a teacher, Nyayo Primary School, Bondo District.
Our schools are located by the beach, and it worries me that parents have neglected the responsibility of guiding their own children. In our school, one parent has been using her young child in third class for commercial sex. What annoys me is that the parent is related to me and could not understand that her action was wrong.
Similar cases have happened before and to the parents it is very normal. Our children end up dropping out of school very early as a result of parental influence to marry them off. The YMEP project should develop strategies on how these parents can be reached. Although our school has registered improvement in school retention, a lot remains to be done. Last year, seven girls became pregnant and eventually dropped out of school. We have witnessed an improvement this year with no pregnancies.
What we do as teachers is to coordinate with beach management to ensure that any child loitering at the beach is brought back to school. The YMEP project should consider organizing community education at Anyanga, Siungu and Goe beaches – that would have great influence on our youths."
The stories are taken from the YMEP 2006 Annual Narrative Report.
|
| |
Print page
Send to a friend
Comment