Namuyomba: defiled, out of school, no medical care

 

 

Before I delve into this teenager’s experience, let’s pause for a moment and chew away on some statistics.

 

Experts say that Uganda is among the top six countries with the highest prevalence of early child-bearing in the world.

 

The East African nation has a significantly young population, with 50% under the age of 15 where it is estimated that about 25% adolescents get pregnant annually. In fact, for clarity, let’s put it this way: these are children giving birth to children.

 

Sadly, most of these pregnancies are unwanted and the teenagers end up seeking abortion. Sex education and reproductive health should be an emphasis in schools to help prepare these young girls for such potentially life-changing obstacles that lie in wait.

 

The 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey indicates that 26.4% of girls aged between 15 and 19 had begun bearing children. This exposes them to higher risks of serious complications during pregnancy and child birth since their bodies are not yet mature enough.

 

The high teenage pregnancy levels make it hard for Uganda to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 5 whose target is to reduce maternal death to 131 by 2015.

 

Okay, that said, enough with the numbers. Back to Namuyomba’s story.

 

Last year, aged 16, she fell victim to this complex phenomenon of early sex-early pregnancy. She was misled by a young man called Wasswa (locally a twin) – a 25-year-old casual labourer from a remote village called Kiyagi in Mukono district.

 

When he learnt that he had impregnated the girl, Wasswa, like so many other men do, fled and up until today, he has never resurfaced.

 

This left Namuyomba, who was totally orphaned at the tender age of four, desolate and desperate. She eventually dropped out of school (Primary Six) due to the pregnancy.

 

At the time of Namuyomba’s defilement, she was staying with her 86-year-old grandmother, Nulu Nabukeera of Jjimbi village. Perhaps this is what provided her with the liberty to frequently sneak out to meet Wasswa, her then-“boyfriend”.

 

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Namuyomba' s 86-year-old grandmother, Nulu Nabukeera. PHOTO/Gladys Kalibbala

 

The teen girl now feels more than disappointed by her baby’s father’s negligence. However, one would argue that she, too, shares the blame as she acted irresponsibly by sleeping with Wasswa at such an age.

 

But according to her, since she cannot turn back the hands of time, the lesson has long been learnt.

 

 

She went on to give birth to a boy at Kayunga Hospital on March 1 this year, thanks to Wasswa’s (the baby’s father) mother, Ruth Nalubega who took her to Naggalama hospital for antenatal.

 

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Namuyomba's baby (face blurred) with his grandma Ruth Nalubega, Wasswa's mother. PHOTO/Gladys Kalibbala

 

But her post-natal life has taken a painful path -- literally and emotionally.

 

Four months after giving birth – she had normal delivery – Namuyomba developed a small swelling in her private parts. She was taken to a nearby clinic and received medicine which helped as the swelling disappeared.

 

“Just after two weeks it resurfaced and this time my whole body got swollen from face to feet!” she narrates.

 

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And when her condition worsened, the child's paternal grandmother took in the baby.

 

“By then she could not walk or sit as the swelling in the private parts gave her terrible pain,” explains Nalubega.

 

Although Namuyomba requires urgent medical care to investigate the causes of her mysterious body swelling, her grandmother (Nabukeera) has resorted to local herbs, claiming they have helped in reducing the pain.

 

An outlet has formed around her private parts, passing out water, which has helped in reducing the swelling.

 

A doctor at Mulago Hospital who prefers anonymity suspects it could be failure of the kidney(s) but is cautious to add that tests must be done first to confirm this.

 

The teenage mother’s legs are swollen to the extent that when pressed, dents form in the skin (below). She has lost appetite, claiming she hates the smell of food yet her grandmother does not have money to give her the required treatment.

 

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Because of the swelling of her body she was forced to stop breast-feeding and her baby handed over to Wasswa’s mother for caretaking.

 

 

Recently, a funeral rite took place at the home of Edward Yiga (Namuyomba’s grand-father), a resident of Kiyagi village. Those who attended were concerned about the girl (Namuyomba) who was bedridden and could not walk while her family seemed unbothered by her situation.

 

So a Good Samaritan contacted Raising Voices, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) fighting for children’s rights, when he travelled back to Kampala.

 

It was later revealed that Wasswa and Namuyomba are related and that the family had felt uncomfortable reporting the case (defilement) to the police.

 

Tabitha Suubi, the Program Officer at Raising Voices said the young man acted negligently.

 

“He not only defiled the girl but also needed to give care to the baby who has a right to receive care from its parents.”

 

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Some of the herbs Nabukeera uses to treat Namuyomba. PHOTO/Gladys Kalibbala

 

 

“Raising Voices applauds the person who did not keep quiet after seeing the ordeal the survivor was going through. This is an example of what we have always said: that the power is in our hands to act when violence against children has occurred. Better still we all have the power to act to prevent violence against children. Everyone can do something however little it is.

 

“We shouldn’t look the other way. One can do whatever they can, like reporting to authorities or talking to people whom they think can help. We continue to receive cases of defilement at our office and we refer them to the police for follow up.

 

“However, in many unreported cases where the perpetrator is left free, it is often that they are known and related to the survivor. We need to break the silence. Defilement is one example of sexual violence that girls experience. As a result, some girls get pregnancies or contract HIV and other health complications. Some girls get a combination of the above.  

 

“When girls like the survivor mentioned [Namuyomba] are defiled and impregnated, they automatically drop out of school. Such girls are deprived of their right to education, which automatically reduces their life chances. We all have a responsibility to support girls to complete their education because it benefits us all when girls are educated.”