Teenage Pregnancy Reduction
Let girls be girls not mothers
President Ernest Bia Koroma
Today 41 % of the population of Sierra Leone is under 18 years of age. Teenage pregnancy is alarming, more than one third of all pregnancies involve teenage girls and up to 40% of maternal deaths occur among them.
Mariatu’s Hope is a participating partner with President Ernest Bia Koroma's, National Strategy for the reduction of teenage pregnancy. He states change is possible; girls hold the keys to a society without poverty. With the right skills and opportunities they can invest now in their future and later in their families. If they are able to stay in school, postpone marriage, delay family formation and build their own capacity, they will have more time to prepare for adulthood before taking on the responsibility of parenting.
In 2014-2015, Mariatu's Hope will pilot a school peer support group and discuss the challenges of becoming pregnant in Sierra Leone. We will share about the importance of proper prenatal medical care and child birth at a medical facility, encourage girls to return to school and continue their education by providing breast pumps to the moms and share about the experience of being left behind when a pregnant teen dies. Participating in this group, girls can openly discuss the difficulties of being a teen mother, hopefully preventing other colleagues from becoming a teenage mother. Colleagues can discuss openly their feelings in a safe environment. We will provide one-on-one counseling when needed and mobilize child health clubs to sensitize communities on this important issue. We will do this in a non-judgmental way, sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the participants.
For girls who have given birth, we will provide them with a breast pump so they can pump two bottles of breast milk and leave their babies with a responsible caregiver so they can return to school. Without an education, there is little chance the girls will be able to support their children.
We hope to one day have a home where we can offer those pregnant girls who get driven from their homes a place to stay so they can get proper prenatal care and deliver their baby at a hospital rather than the bush. We would also like to be able to provide care for those babies who have no one. We have been presented with an opportunity for a place to do this, but we need a three year monthly funding commitment. If you are interested in partnering with us on this, please contact us through the website. Thank you!!
President Ernest Bia Koroma
Today 41 % of the population of Sierra Leone is under 18 years of age. Teenage pregnancy is alarming, more than one third of all pregnancies involve teenage girls and up to 40% of maternal deaths occur among them.
Mariatu’s Hope is a participating partner with President Ernest Bia Koroma's, National Strategy for the reduction of teenage pregnancy. He states change is possible; girls hold the keys to a society without poverty. With the right skills and opportunities they can invest now in their future and later in their families. If they are able to stay in school, postpone marriage, delay family formation and build their own capacity, they will have more time to prepare for adulthood before taking on the responsibility of parenting.
In 2014-2015, Mariatu's Hope will pilot a school peer support group and discuss the challenges of becoming pregnant in Sierra Leone. We will share about the importance of proper prenatal medical care and child birth at a medical facility, encourage girls to return to school and continue their education by providing breast pumps to the moms and share about the experience of being left behind when a pregnant teen dies. Participating in this group, girls can openly discuss the difficulties of being a teen mother, hopefully preventing other colleagues from becoming a teenage mother. Colleagues can discuss openly their feelings in a safe environment. We will provide one-on-one counseling when needed and mobilize child health clubs to sensitize communities on this important issue. We will do this in a non-judgmental way, sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the participants.
For girls who have given birth, we will provide them with a breast pump so they can pump two bottles of breast milk and leave their babies with a responsible caregiver so they can return to school. Without an education, there is little chance the girls will be able to support their children.
We hope to one day have a home where we can offer those pregnant girls who get driven from their homes a place to stay so they can get proper prenatal care and deliver their baby at a hospital rather than the bush. We would also like to be able to provide care for those babies who have no one. We have been presented with an opportunity for a place to do this, but we need a three year monthly funding commitment. If you are interested in partnering with us on this, please contact us through the website. Thank you!!