Teen Girls Health & Empowerment in Uganda

In Uganda, 25% of girls 15-19 years old have been or are pregnant, according to UNFPA Uganda’s 2016 Report. Yet, pregnancy remains the leading cause of girls dropping out of school, and along with abortion and birth is the main cause of death for teen girls in Uganda.

In response to this fact, Shanti Uganda runs a Teen Health Education Program. Offered for teen girls in the surrounding area, this program involves 3 days of classes and discussions that cover reproductive health, family planning, relationships, and gender equality.

What truly makes the program effective, though, is the staff who run and teach the workshops; staff like Winnie, a young woman herself who takes seriously the education and health of teen girls.

Winnie is Shanti’s youngest midwife. She joined us in 2017 when she was 22 years old and just out of university. However, her education in midwifery started long before school, as Winnie grew up watching her own mother work as a midwife in a local hospital. “She was my mentor,” Winnie says. “She used to teach me. After that, I got the love of going to study midwifery.”

This love undoubtedly shows in her work. At 23 years old she is an intelligent, caring and cheerful asset to the Shanti team. Her story is one that proves how early education and experience, like being surrounded by a love of midwifery, can strongly influence a person’s future.

Now, Winnie is shaping the futures of teen girls in her community. She began leading Shanti’s Teen Health Education Programs three months ago and has completed two so far. “Interacting with these young girls is the best,” she says. “Sometimes they tell you stories—it makes you happy. They tell you…things you don’t even know. You learn from them and they learn from you.”

What Winnie continues to see though, she says, is that “these girls face so many challenges.” She explains that “girls are vulnerable because they can easily be tempted. They can easily fall victims,” and “in the end (a girl) might get a pregnancy at an early age. It can be dangerous to have, and can be dangerous to her life.”

The cases and challenges teen girls in Uganda face are many. Winnie gives a few examples, such as rape, unwanted pregnancies, violence and problems with male friends. UNFPA Uganda’s 2016 report lists similar cases, such as that:

• “60% of adolescents 10-19 years have experienced physical violence, 42% emotional violence and 10% sexual violence.”
• 10% of women aged 20-24 were married by age 15, and 40% by age 18.
• Every year there are 9,600 new cases of HIV among 15-19 year-olds, while 66% of those cases are among adolescent girls.

Overcoming these challenges is not a simple matter, but what Winnie believes to be important, and the best thing about the Teen Health Education Program, is an “access to knowledge.” She says:

“There are some girls who come from very deep in the villages who can’t access the knowledge, they cannot even access some services. So when they come here and we teach them these things they get the knowledge, and they know how to handle some cases, how to deal with some people. How to behave as a teenager.”

Winnie thanks knowledge for helping her keep herself safe as a teen girl in Uganda. She says that she did not experience many of the challenges teen girls in Uganda often face, and that she wants to teach the girls “(what I learned) from my school days and the things I used to do, because these girls need to know about this, and I think it could help them learn.”

This she most certainly does. We are so grateful to Winnie for educating so many young women about their reproductive health and rights, and so thankful to all of our supporters for making our Teen Health Education Programs possible.

Thank you for supporting Ugandan girls’ access to knowledge about their health and reproductive rights.

The girls standing in grey and purple uniforms against the bright blue 9am sky seemed shy but ready. There were some nervous smiles and giggles from the students as the Destiny Christian High School headmaster (Pr. Sajjiba Daniel), Shanti Uganda driver (Fred), and Shanti intern (Meagan) arranged transportation from the school to the nearby Shanti Uganda Birth House facility. But once everyone was piled into the vans listening to the Backstreet Boys (Fred's choice), some of those layers of shyness melted away and the girls demonstrated a keen readiness for a weekend of health and wellbeing curriculum. This is how most Teen Health Education Program weekends start. Fred picking up the students and bringing them to the serene Birth House for a weekend of class time covering topics such as menstruation, hygiene, child/ early marriage, family planning, and empowerment and life skills. Different groups of students have varying social dynamics at play, but our amazing Shanti Midwife and Teen Health Facilitator, Gloria, is well versed in how to manage whatever comes her way. Along with 6 other members of the Shanti staff, she received special training in how to facilitate youth friendly services through Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre's Training of Trainers curriculum. Armed with the skills she picked up during this week long course, she is ready to brave any question the inquisitive students bring her way in a safe and respectful classroom setting. As with anything in life, running workshops with 30 teenagers requires a lot of flexibility, and this March workshop was no different. From scheduling challenges to facility changes, Fred, Gloria, and the Shanti Uganda Chef, Jamilah, were prepared to navigate an array of unexpected variables with grace and ease. When Gloria had a family matter arise the week leading up to the workshop, another midwife, Winnie, and the new Program Manager, Edith, stepped up to run the Friday curriculum. Gloria was then able to seamlessly pick up right where Winnie and Edith left off on Saturday, expressing gratitude for working with such supportive colleagues. Also, since the Destiny Christian High School is a boarding school and had a parent visiting day on Saturday, we brought all of our Shanti resources to their school. They were gracious enough to host us and offer a classroom space so the girls could attend our workshop and still see their parents. Feedback from the Destiny staff? "The parents were so so happy to see their girls learning about such topics, and the girls said they are enjoying the classes very much. They have even started sharing [what they are learning] with their friends from their workbooks in the evening! Please come back and work with us anytime!" By Sunday, the girls, now in casual dress uniforms of orange, purple, yellow and blue, were beaming and laughing with one another, eagerly discussing different aspects of what they had learned. Due to the scheduling changes, we wrapped up the weekend with a day of empowerment and life skill curriculum followed by reusable pad-making and the certificate ceremony. Gloria shared how thrilled she was to hear the girls' responses to the question of what women inspire them. Many responded with Ugandan women in government and others spoke about their teachers and mothers as role models. They were then able to reflect on their responses and the weekend at large as they received one pre-made reusable menstrual pad and the materials to make a second for themselves. In this way, they have the skills to keep good hygiene and stay in school during their periods. After finishing their pads, the girls gleefully received their personalized certificates of completion and enjoyed taking celebratory photos with the Shanti staff. The students of Destiny Christian High School passed the Shanti Uganda Teen Health Education curriculum with flying colours! Their pride in what they learned left all with a sense of deep satisfaction and contentment. This week, we are gearing up to run our April workshop with the teen girls of Luwero High School. We can't wait to see what adventures and beautiful moments are in store for us as we learn together!