Wakisa gives hope to young mothers
Dec 14, 2009
TWENTY-three-year-old Betty Muteesi had lost all hope of attaining further education after dropping out in Senior Three a few years ago. To make matters worse, she became pregnant while staying at her aunt’s home and the father of the child was a studen
By Gladys Kalibbala
TWENTY-three-year-old Betty Muteesi had lost all hope of attaining further education after dropping out in Senior Three a few years ago. To make matters worse, she became pregnant while staying at her aunt’s home and the father of the child was a student. However, life has turned round for her.
Muteesi was one of the 300 students who graduated at the 17th graduation ceremony of Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Kampala recently. She got a certificate in catering and intends to go back to the same institution for a diploma.
Born at Lusanja village in Mityana, Muteesi was forced to drop out of school after the death of her father. Her mother was sickly and could not get money to keep her in school with her other siblings.
Unlike other young girls, who are sent away from their parents’ homes when they get pregnant, her aunt was understanding and instead took her to Wakisa Ministries, an NGO formed by Vivian Kityo to counsel and look after the youth.
The organisation counsels and cares for girls with unwanted pregnancies, trauma counselling and training them to get employment. Kityo explains that the organisation has been catering for many girls who are rejected by their families when they get pregnant.
The girls are kept at a hostel, which accommodates about 30 people and after giving birth, the NGO helps to reconcile them with their parents and later find them courses, which can help them become self-reliant.
“We reintegrate young mothers into schools or institutions through provision of school fees and lifeskills to equip them for a livelihood in future,†Kityo says.
Beneficiaries are trained in cooking, candle making, handcraft, making baby clothes as well as birth preparation and how to take care of the baby. They also get information on adoption, single parenting, infant care, breastfeeding, music and Bible study.
Muteesi regards herself as a lucky girl. She gave birth after three months of joining Wakisa and after one week, she moved into the home of Geraldine Kawuma (wife to late Namirembe Bishop Misaeri Kawuma), where she stays up to now.
After giving birth, these girls go back to their homes but in Muteesi’s case, she had nowhere to go. Her aunt had moved faraway and that is how Geraldine Kawuma came to her rescue.
“Before I gave birth I learnt to make candles, samosas and many other things,†Muteesi says. When the baby turned nine months, she joined YWCA, where she studied for a year.
“I am grateful to Mrs. Kityo and Mrs. Kawuma for giving me a new life. I will now be able to work and look after my son and my sickly mother,†Muteesi says.
Kawuma, who accompanied Muteesi on her graduation, called upon parents not to reject their daughters when they get pregnant, but instead get close to them and advise them with love. She attributed instances of girls getting into problems to gaps created between parents and their children.
“Let parents be close enough and advise these girls not to trust men who deceive them and abandon them. They should concentrate on their studies and later identify proper husbands for them,†Kawuma advised.
TWENTY-three-year-old Betty Muteesi had lost all hope of attaining further education after dropping out in Senior Three a few years ago. To make matters worse, she became pregnant while staying at her aunt’s home and the father of the child was a student. However, life has turned round for her.
Muteesi was one of the 300 students who graduated at the 17th graduation ceremony of Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Kampala recently. She got a certificate in catering and intends to go back to the same institution for a diploma.
Born at Lusanja village in Mityana, Muteesi was forced to drop out of school after the death of her father. Her mother was sickly and could not get money to keep her in school with her other siblings.
Unlike other young girls, who are sent away from their parents’ homes when they get pregnant, her aunt was understanding and instead took her to Wakisa Ministries, an NGO formed by Vivian Kityo to counsel and look after the youth.
The organisation counsels and cares for girls with unwanted pregnancies, trauma counselling and training them to get employment. Kityo explains that the organisation has been catering for many girls who are rejected by their families when they get pregnant.
The girls are kept at a hostel, which accommodates about 30 people and after giving birth, the NGO helps to reconcile them with their parents and later find them courses, which can help them become self-reliant.
“We reintegrate young mothers into schools or institutions through provision of school fees and lifeskills to equip them for a livelihood in future,†Kityo says.
Beneficiaries are trained in cooking, candle making, handcraft, making baby clothes as well as birth preparation and how to take care of the baby. They also get information on adoption, single parenting, infant care, breastfeeding, music and Bible study.
Muteesi regards herself as a lucky girl. She gave birth after three months of joining Wakisa and after one week, she moved into the home of Geraldine Kawuma (wife to late Namirembe Bishop Misaeri Kawuma), where she stays up to now.
After giving birth, these girls go back to their homes but in Muteesi’s case, she had nowhere to go. Her aunt had moved faraway and that is how Geraldine Kawuma came to her rescue.
“Before I gave birth I learnt to make candles, samosas and many other things,†Muteesi says. When the baby turned nine months, she joined YWCA, where she studied for a year.
“I am grateful to Mrs. Kityo and Mrs. Kawuma for giving me a new life. I will now be able to work and look after my son and my sickly mother,†Muteesi says.
Kawuma, who accompanied Muteesi on her graduation, called upon parents not to reject their daughters when they get pregnant, but instead get close to them and advise them with love. She attributed instances of girls getting into problems to gaps created between parents and their children.
“Let parents be close enough and advise these girls not to trust men who deceive them and abandon them. They should concentrate on their studies and later identify proper husbands for them,†Kawuma advised.