In Kibera, the largest slum of Africa, located in Nairobi, Kenya, 25% of the girls aged 15-19 years have already given birth due to lack of education, lack of empowerment and premarital sexual relations. The consequences of these early pregnancies have led to approximately 30% of the girls dropping out of school in Kibera.
They are rejected by the community and driven away from home by their families. Some have even resorted to prostitution as a result. Despite several efforts made by nongovernmental organizations in bringing support to the most serious cases of these teen mothers, majority of them are not helped and are always on their own.
As someone who was born and raised in Kibera by a young mother, I have witnessed so much struggle in such an environment and understands the feeling and importance of a mom in a family. My motivation to tell the stories of the teen mothers is to call for more attention on the real life and situations of this marginal group and extend the discussion further to several other vital social issues such as empowerment and education.
Read the story in the link below:
