Spending time talking to children especially girls is something this conference has trained me. Honestly, I want to thank the organisers of this conferences especially ECOV and the school at large for bringing us together to forge ways of talking to children about reproductive health & sexually transmitted diseases.
I have learnt how to handle children on the side of understanding what goes through them as they grow up.
Before coming here, my daughter Robinah was always behaving in a certain way and I was looking for ways of approaching her do that we can talk about issues concerning sexuality and how to protect her from getting unwanted pregnancies. My approach has always been to be very strict and hard on her to make sure she comes home early irrespective of how she feels about my actions
The ECOV facilitator talked about being open and friendly to these children so as to get the best out of them. I realised that my daughter couldn’t open up freely to me because I was always tough
I have learnt how to create an environment of trust for the girl child to dialogue on issues that will affect their reproductive health and accomplishing their task at school of learning. I now feel comfortable talking to my daughter to discuss issues of pregnancy and how to prevent getting pregnancy without making her uncomfortable about the subject. Infact I want to thank ECOV for organising this conference. I have learnt different communication skills and ready to discuss this with daughter when I get back home
I will also encourage my friends in my community to give time to children, sit them down to openly discuss with their children about sexually and early teenage pregnant
TEENAGE PREGNANCY
Learning that I was pregnant was one of my worst experiences I have every had. All I had to do was to hide away from people keeping indoors all day through. I began vomiting and seems my life was becoming worst every day with my poor appetite that affect my entrie life.
Sometitmes I would feel dizzy, I wondered what was going through me. My grade mother who Was caring for requested me to go to the health facilty need grandmas hope, but because of fear I didn’t take a step to go. One day after feeling so bad grandma insisted I go, she prepared my cloths and shoes, gave me a small, bag to go with at the health facility. I left that morning to go to the facility, a few meter before reaching the hospital I could see many women tha includes young girls sitting waiting to be attended to.
Looking at what was happening, I decided to go back home and lied to grandma that I have been seen by the nurses at the hospital.
My life weakened until when a village health worker one day came home asking grandma if she can talk to me. She told us that they are working together with ECOV identifying teenage girls and supporting them to access friendly antenatal services at the facility
The health worker spent time talking to and encouraging to go to the health facility for checkup and that all the problems I am facing will get well. That the health workers are friendly and will help me get treatment.
It was a good meeting and I decided to go to the facility and while there, the nurses were very
Friendly. They took my blood pressure and was told its ok. And Hiv TEST WAS DONE and the results were negative. The blood results showed that my blood is a little down and were given tablets. I feel much better, strong and so far going on well with pregnancy. My sincere thanks goes to ECOV and the Village health team for supporting and encouraging me to access health servies at the hopsital
DANCE AND DRAMA
My way of thinking just changed when I saw those frinds of mine acting the part when a girl got pregnant from a boda boda man just because of offering her gifts and dropping her to and from school every day. From the play, I saw all the tricks that this man used to win the poor girls in primary five.
Todays drama activily has opened my mind and solved all the questions I have been asking myself on the next steps. In my village, there is this boda boda man always very friendly to me and every morning I have to find him along the way and he gives me alift to school. Infact I even don’t know how he knows my movemnts that by the time I reach the main road, he comes from behide hooting to help take me to school
The same often happens after the bells goes and after moving a few meters from school he passes by asking if he can drop me back home. Moving in a group of girls sometimes makes him leave and he doesnt drop me home
There was a time he bought for me presents that included handkerchief and many snacks that looked like were bought from the supermarket I guess because they had price tags on them. They included biscuts, sweets and yogurt.
This drama play has opened my eyes, because one day he sent me a handkerchief with words written and his telephone contact asking me to call him and we meet something similar with what happened in the drama that was acted today by students
I saw in the play the girl visiting the boda boda man at his home in which the man locked himself with girl in his room and now imagining that if I had accepted, this would happen to me. The worst part of the play is the girl getting pregnancy from this man and later he denies responsibility of owning the pregnancy
This drama has shown me and given me a wake call that this boda boda man picking me up every day and giving me gifts has something he wants. This will expose me to getting a situation that I am locked and get in trouble. I am grateful to ECOV for organising these drama events because it has made me understand and saved me from being a culprit of unplanned early pregnancy and contracting sexual transmitted disease
Juliet Mugoya P.5
STORIES OF CHANGE
When the session began, I was excited to be part of the session because I have always asked my self many questions about myself. Last week I saw some little blood in my private parts but when I aske my father he was not able to tell what could be happening wit h me instead he told me to ask my antie who lives very far in the next village of buwenge subcounty. This made so scared about what could be happening with me and infact that night I did not eat and slept awake the whole nite waking up to check what could have happened. At one point I felt like am so dirty and the end of the world was coming. What surprised me is that my “SUSU” was not paining but I kept on thinking what was happening.
The next morning I was unable to go to school, my dady left me home and left for work. This time in the morning I just felt little of the red thing and by afternoon it had stopped,. I kept on wondering what could be happening and for feer that it may come back, I didn’t go to school the whole week. Over the weekend I didn’t feel anything and decided to come school on Monday that s when I had there is this learning session organised by Echoes of Children’s Voices and was very happy because this was the second time I was hearing about them. ECOV facilitors explained a lot about the reproductive system and the different stages of development. The staff were able o explain to me about the menstrual cycle and pregnancy and how to prevent pregnancy.
This session has helped to understand what was happening to me during last week and how to care for myself incase it happens next time. I am very happy for the staff of ECOV preparing these sessions and will continue attending to learn more about sexual reproductive health.
