By Karin Joseph | Head of International Programmes
Cheka Sana's StreetBorn programme, supporting young women who are already mothers on the streets and those who are at risk of pregnancy on the streets, continues to go from strength to strength. 44 are currently participating in this year's cohort, having been met by Cheka Sana's outreach team on their visits to the streets. In the last 3 months, girls have received medical referrals and support accessing these healthcare services; 7 of the cohort are currently pregnant and have been enrolled in antenatal services and others have accessed family planning services. They also joined self-defence sessions, a key pillar of Cheka Sana's approach to rebuilding girls' confidence, self-esteem and ownership over their own bodies. The girls and young women receive weekly one-to-one psychosocial sessions from their case workers, and Cheka Sana supported them to create two youth association groups for ongoing peer support. Below is a story of one participant who has benefited from Cheka Sana's programmes for these young women.
Ariana* is 19. She started living on the street at 17, because after failing her Form 4 national exams her parents chased her out of home. This rejection gave Ariana no choice but to live on the streets — where she survived for nearly a year before she met Cheka Sana’s outreach workers. Whilst living on the streets, she joined a group of girls who were involved in sex work in order to survive. One night, during a street outreach session conducted by Cheka Sana Tanzania, a social worker approached her and explained the support services available through the Street Born Project. She agreed to join the programme, and was immediately enrolled in one-to-one psychosocial sessions, life skills training, and family tracing. At first, Ariana was not ready to return home due to fear of being judged by her parents. However, after a series of individual and joint sessions involving her and her parents, reconciliation was achieved. Her family agreed to welcome her back home, and she too was ready to go back. Cheka Sana’s team continued to provide support her and her family after she chose to return home, to ensure a smooth transition and a continued presence in their lives as they adjust. With the support of Cheka Sana, Ariana also was taken for health screening and unfortunately discovered she was HIV positive. This was a painful discovery but with intensive counselling, follow up and encouragement from her social worker, Ariana began her ARV treatment and is now confidently taking her medication and focussed on her future.
After supporting her with her health and her family reconciliation process, Cheka Sana focussed on supporting Ariana with building that brighter future. She enrolled in a vocational training course in event decoration. Cheka Sana’s approach to vocational training assesses the opportunities in the local market, rather than only pursuing conventional vocational training courses which might result in young women entering a saturated job market once they have completed their training. There is huge demand for event decoration in Mwanza (such as for birthdays, weddings, conferences and community events). After completing her course and gaining experience with existing businesses, Ariana created her own small business and is now generating an income and supporting her family financially.
“I am so proud of how far I have come. My dream is to become one of the most successful event decorators in Tanzania”.
*(name changed)
By karin joseph | Head of international programmes
By Karin Joseph | Head of Partnerships & Gender
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