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Kisii based CBO brings sex education to primary and secondary schools in a bid to address early pregnancies and marriages
Date: 07-11-2022
Onsembe CBO is a registered community-based organization in Kenya and it operates in Kisii County. The organization is run and managed by local youth and women with a mission to Nurture, Empower and Transform local vulnerable women and adolescent girls and young women to be self- reliant and independent in the community. Onsembe CBO involves itself with activities that aim to improve the status of women and girls who have been or at risk of gender-based violence, defilement, rape and FGM. These activities include women economic empowerment, civic education and other programs that seek to elevate the status of women and the girl-child. The organization’s goal is to empower vulnerable households through education, health, and economic development.
The organization organized a workshop for students of Nyataro primary and secondary and maseno secondary school. The sex education workshop aimed at deconstructing the myths around sex, pregnancies and the practice of early marriages. The sessions were done separately for boys and girls with the major topic of the day being teen pregnancies, early marriages, Female genital mutilation (FGM), defilement, how to be self-aware and student to student relationship. The workshop reached around 100 boys and 100 girls. Some of the knowledge the girls were impacted with is abstinence and its importance, the benefits of education and the need to seek out help if something doesn’t sit well with them.
Some of the reasons that leads to teen pregnancies were highlighted by the students as; lack of education or school dropout, pressure for marriage by the family and community, the allure of money which is promised to them when and if they engage in sexual activities, sexual violence, Lack of information about sexual and reproductive health and rights, underage and forced marriage, which can be both a cause and a consequence.
During the girls’ session, the facilitators invited them to share their experiences. One of the girls who shared is pregnant but keen to complete her studies. “I was forced to have sex with an old man for money since my mother couldn’t raise school fees, poverty is great factor towards early pregnancy.†She added, “some of us have no access to the necessary information on prevention and also who to consult in such occasions. A lot of my peers have gotten married and the pressure to gets to some of the girlsâ€
After the workshop, attitude change could be observed among the students especially on consent and their education. The facilitators noted that the student’s mind sent on life has been positively influenced, especially for the survivors of early pregnancies and marriages. The organization wants to continue with the same project in the hope that girls will better understand their rights especially at the grassroot level where awareness is lacking. The CBO expects gradual reduction in teen pregnancies among school girls .