Nebbi adolescent girls defy odds, remain in schools amidst SRHR hurdles

NEBBI - When Everline Egitha’s parents separated when she was still in Primary Two 12 years ago, she ended up growing up with only her father.

As a result of this, Egitha,19, Senior Five at Nebbi Town Secondary School in Nebbi Municipality has lived all he adolescent life struggling to address her menstrual hygiene challenges and other basic needs while at school.

“My father is a peasant farmer and only struggles to look for school fees, every holiday he gives me shillings 10,000 to start a business of brewing local alcohol to raise money for my shopping and menstrual hygiene materials and luckily, I would raise at least shillings 40, 000 to shillings 50, 000 for my shopping and this has kept me remain in school till now,” Egitha said.

She added that her condition led her to be approached severely by boys and old men who wished to take advantage of her ordeal to exploit her sexually.

Betrayed by mother

“The worst is that one time I contacted my mother on phone to support me with school requirements like soap, but she advised me to call my boyfriends so that they can support me. That response shocked me and I cried for days,” said Egitha.

Egitha’s story is a testament to resilience of a vulnerable adolescent girl, who amidst the overwhelming challenges, survives the temptation of massive teenage pregnancies, early marriage and school dropouts in Nebbi district.

Funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the PROTECT Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) project is working to improve the sexual and reproductive health and social well-being of adolescents, youth, and women across the region.

The four-year project is implemented in a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in collaboration with World Vision (WV), Reach a Hand Uganda (RAHU), Humanity and Inclusion, and Open Capital Advisors (OCA.

Empowerment through peer mentorship

Ruth Amaru Tingo, a 19-year-old senior four adolescent girl at Nebbi Town Secondary School, is one of the girls selected as SRHR mentor.

“I have ever been approached by the boys and men as old as my father, my desire to change the history of our family kept me striving and focused, but I have lost majority of my friends to teenage pregnancies and early marriage," said Amaru.

The daunting challenge of school dropout in Nebbi.

Nebbi district Inspector of Schools James Gwoktho revealed that the primary school cycle completion rate in the district stands at only 12 per cent.

“When we tracked the completion rate of our learners in Primary Seven last year, the enrolment in  P1 in 2018 was 23,146 learners and only 2,507 only completed last year, that gives us only 12 per cent meaning the 88 per cent have dropped out of school and this project of PROTECT SRHR came in timely,” Gwoktho said.

Samuel Awuzu, a senior six student who is one of the peer mentors and model adolescent boys at Nebbi Town SS challenged the boys to give space to the girls to continue with their education.

Schools at the forefront of adolescent peer-to-peer mentorship

Alice Buleru, the senior woman teacher at Nebbi Town Secondary School, said since the start of the project, a positive mindset change has been observed amongst both the girls and boys at the school.

“Right now, the girls know that they have a right to consent to what is being said to them by men, and the project has provided reusable pads to the school, and this has kept the girls in school," said Buleru.

Equally, the senior man teacher at Afere Primary school in Nebbi Municipality, Augustino Endema, acknowledged rampant cases of teenage pregnancies among the girls at the school as they continue with counselling, advocating for them to remain in school and to have those who dropped out return to school.

Enrolment and retention priority targets

Paddy Tumwesigye, the program manager for Protect-SRHR World Vision Nebbi cluster, said the target of the project is to see the percentage of school completion cycle increased, as well as reduce teenage pregnancy trends and return them to school.

“We also have several other interventions in the schools to make sure that we increase the enrolment and also return the adolescent mothers to schools through follow-ups, so that their vulnerability reduces and they are self-reliant.