Support 225 adolescent mothers to thrive in Uganda

At the initiation of the health and well-being project in April 2021, most Adolescent Mothers had given up on life, knowing nothing good could ever come out of them. Society termed them as useless, good for nothing, and misfits. For the first months of our engagement with the Adolescent Mothers, there was always a sense of sadness, and hopelessness that was visible on their faces, but also more worrying were the confessions of suicidal thoughts that for a long time had been hanging on their minds. As a result of their past experiences, interaction with one another was difficult, they had no love for their children and always turned their frustration to them. Some of their marriages were on the verge of failing because they did not acknowledge or value the essence of marriage as it seemed not to make any meaning to them anymore.

Lives are transformed

By phase-out of the first cohort of Adolescent Mothers, the stories of the vast majority had changed. They started to value and positively look at themselves. This positive outlook and value for themselves brought a gradual change which led to starting to witness and the same time leading one thing into another, for example; 1) Self-drive in setting up goals for themselves 2) Positive interaction amongst themselves 3) Reduction in Gender-based violence in their homes 4) Reconciliation in their families. 5) Value and respect for their marriages and love for their children. 6) Taking up leadership roles in the community. We further witnessed that this gradual change in the lives of adolescent mothers not only led to the above-mentioned but also led to a sharp increase in the change of their mindsets and perception of life thus leading to the birth of small businesses that are currently led and owned by the adolescent mothers themselves.  Many were delivered from emotional agony that they had for long been experiencing, and hope was restored to a majority of the adolescent mothers. The stories as told by parents and spouses of adolescent mothers were testament to the transformation they had undergone. Below are just some of the many testimonies shared by parents during the phase-out ceremony.

"Before coming to Act 4 Africa, my daughter had been emotionally tortured having conceived at the age of 12. She was too reserved and unable to strike up a conversation with anyone. She can now not just smile, but also communicate with others, thanks to the discussions she has had with her teachers. I owe Act 4 Africa a debt of gratitude for the near-impossible work they did in my daughter." One parent stated.

"My daughter was always bitter and enraged, which led her to constantly beat up her child." She learned to control her anger after joining Act 4 Africa, and she even began educating me about being a good mother and other teachings from her trainers. My daughter even went back to school after such a lengthy period of hopelessness. May God bless Act 4 Africa for making such a significant contribution to our lives." Narrated a mother to one of our Adolescent mothers.

More to that, we are getting ambassadors of change. One example is Zahara, an adolescent mother who after returning to school, started a reproductive health club to convey a message to fellow adolescents to remain in school, abstain and avoid teenage pregnancy among others. In addition, through the network of self-help groups created, there is peer-to-peer support where adolescent mothers share their mental health challenges and together find solutions to address them. These adolescent mothers have become role models to other adolescents in the communities who have seen the transformation they have undergone.

Welcoming the second cohort of adolescent mothers.

On 12^th April 2021, Act 4 Africa welcomed the second cohort of 120 Adolescent Mothers who just like the first cohort are struggling with complex mental health-related challenges that include rejection, ridicule, stigma, torture, physical and emotional abuse, yet they have no voice.

In addressing some of the complex challenges that are associated with the current cohort of Adolescent Mothers, we designed a tool that captures their personal stories to get to the depth of things that have over time made them lead miserable lives so that they can be helped depending on their individual needs. We have cases of rape and defilement, two mothers with disabilities, and two mothers whose babies are not only severely malnourished but also have other disabilities. Working in partnership with a child health specialist, these babies have been linked to health facilities for nutritional support and regular physiotherapy. The team is also working to build the self-esteem of these adolescent mothers and encouraging them to love, accept and support their children and follow the instructions of the medical personnel attending to them, as this will help them get better.

Our sexual reproductive health and mental well-being sessions with this new cohort started in April and are currently running. The sessions covered so far are;1) Introduction to take the new entrants through what is to be covered, be covered 2) Identifying emotions 3) Risk of sexual relationships, and 4) Your story among others. Through these sessions, adolescent mothers are given a platform to share their individual stories, dreams and lessons learnt. Through narrating their experiences and fears, some of them feel a little lifted off the pain they have been carrying and hope to be completely released as the journey continues. Their confidence is steadily improving, and some who were very reserved have started to associate with others. We are looking forward to seeing the best come out of this new cohort through the psychosocial support offered by Act 4 Africa.

Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey of making a difference in the lives of these young mothers.