Kenyan village where children are becoming mothers

Diana, who is 16 years old during the interview just after sitting her class eight primary national exams at their Il Bissil Township Primary school located in Kajiado County. Diana with a one month old baby is one of the many teen mothers in the area. PHOTO: NANJINIA WAMUSWA

KAJIADO: The bell rings, it is 4pm, and this signals the end of the first day of 2015 KCPE at Il Bissil Township Primary School. Pupils gather to analyse the status of the just concluded mathematics, English and composition exams but not Diana.

She had to rush home and breastfeed her one-month old baby. “I know my baby has cried a lot. I have been sitting for exams the whole day and have not had time to breastfeed her since morning,” she said.

With that, Diana dashed out of the examination room carrying her geometrical set and writing pad. She ran past the metal gate then along a winding footpath until she disappeared into the thorny thicket.

We did our best to keep up with her brisk pace and after walking for about 45 minutes, going through two thickets and a deep valley, we got to Rarin’s home. It is a shanty made of shiny iron sheets located in Kajiado Central.

The baby was asleep and Diana quickly cleaned her breasts, woke the baby up and started to breastfeed her. The father’s baby is a form three student at a nearby secondary school which makes the 16-year-old another teen mother in an area where pregnancy cases involve fellow male pupils.

She told us they met at Bissil shopping centre, became friends and the pregnancy followed shortly.

“He accepted responsibility when l told him l was pregnant. But l have not seen him for a really long time,” said the first born in a family of four girls who wants to continue with her studies and become a doctor.

Also sitting for the same exams at the time was 16-year-old Felistar and 15-year-old Anne who were both pregnant but intend to continue with their studies after giving birth.

“My mother will take care of my child, while l go to school,” Felistar said.

Then there is 15-year-old Lillian who suffered a miscarriage two weeks to the national exams. She was still grieving the loss and broke into tears during the interview.

“Loosing a child is very painful. I will forever think of my child,” she said adding that she will continue with her studies in order to become a doctor.

While the teen mothers appear to treat this as a normal situation, it is a cause of great concern for the local administration with Lonkishon Assistant Chief Caroline Ncharo saying these cases are becoming too rampant and requires “immediate intervention”.

The administrator says unfortunately when the boys learn of these pregnancies they go into hiding.

“Some of them have disappeared from the village after they learnt that they were being sought over pregnancy matters,” she said.

Such is the fate of 14-year-old Jemimah, a class five pupil who got pregnant in March last year.

“When l informed my boyfriend who was in form one, that l was pregnant, he disappeared and to date I have no idea where he is,” she said.

The girls’ mothers say there is nothing they can do about their daughters’ pregnancies.

“Babies are a blessings and l encouraged my daughter to carry her pregnancy to term. I will take care of her child while she goes back to school,” said Emily, Jemimah’s mother.

And Diana’s mother, Elizabeth, said: “When l realised she was pregnant, l told her to carry the pregnancy to the end and pledged to care for the baby while she goes back to school”.

According to the assistant chief, 90 per cent of school going girls do not finish their studies hence the push to have teen mother know that there is life after birth.

“We talk to them and motivate them. This is the reason you see many want to go back to class and realise their dreams. The problem is that many go back to school and get pregnant again,” she said.

Jane is one such a case. She gave birth to her first child in 2013 and now has a two month old baby. She says she was cheated but it would not happen again.

“l went back to school and was tricked again and got pregnant for the second time. I will however, continue with my studies,” she said expressing her desire to become a lawyer and assist her people recover lost land.

According to Ncharo, the long distance boys and girls have to cover to school and back makes it easy for them to meet up and engage in sexual relations.

Another challenge she encounters is that many of these teen mothers give birth at home. The administrator now has to visit every homestead where there is a pregnant child to advise them, and their mothers, on why they need to use a health facility.

Child advocate Abdi Omari Farah says these increased cases of teen pregnancies are unacceptable and called on the Government and all agencies that deal with children rights to wake up.

“A very fundamental question we should ask ourselves is: Are we really looking out for the children of this nation. What future do children raised by children have?” Poses Abdi, Kenya Pastoralist Network for Children Rights Coordinator.

According to Kajiado Children Officer, John Mwangi, increased teen pregnancies are common problem in pastoralist areas primarily due to lack of sex education and laxity among the parents.

He says that in any given month, his office receives reports of five child pregnancy cases and fears there could be many more that go unreported.

“When girls become pregnant, their parents do not come to report. They instead opt to resolve the issue through payment of fines and the only time they involve us is when one party fails to honour or agree to the arrangement,” he says.

He says in such a scenario, it becomes possible to seek legal redress for the girl because there is no complainant.

Mwangi believes contraceptives can help stem the tide but says this being a conservative community, they will not accept to use them or allow their distribution. They are, however, empowering the community via a project on sex education carried out during the school holidays.

“We are beginning to see results and we are having more and more cases now getting reported. However, much more needs to be done to help our young people be more responsible with their sexuality,” he says.