New hope for Samburu teen mothers
For many underage girls, getting pregnant spells the end of education. But a programme in Samburu is helping these teens get a second chance at learning
Lilian Kaivilu @liliankaivilu
When 14-year-old Dinah* got pregnant in early 2018, she dropped out of school, casting uncertainty on her future. She was then in Class Six at Logorate Primary School in Samburu East.
From the experience of her peers, Dinah knew her education had hit a dead end. She would give birth later in the year.
Dinah is just one of the 777,000 teenage girls below the age of 15 across the globe who give birth each year.
Many of them drop out of school to take care of babies. The World Health Organisation says at least 10 million teen pregnancies in developing countries are unintended.
In some communities, however, stigma keeps many girls out of school as they are too ashamed to resume learning.
But Dinah’s case was different as her school accepted her back. “I resumed school in the first academic term of 2019 and am now in Class Eight,” says a jovial Dinah. Her mother, she says, encouraged her to go back to school.
Second chance
Through Binti Shujaa programme, an initiative by Afya Timiza, Dinah, together with tens of other girls have gotten a second chance in their education.
“Although I went through a challenging time as a teen mother, I want to tell other young girls there is hope after pregnancy,” she says.
Binti Shujaa is a USAID-funded initiative that seeks to reintegrate teenage mothers to formal school system.
John Lekamparach, assistant chief of Logorate sub location blames stigma for the high school dropout rate among teenage mothers. 
“When girls get pregnant before marriage, they are excluded from all activities in the community, including political and community dialogues,” he says.
The assistant chief was compelled to offer a solution to the girls who, he observed, were being punished for getting pregnant while in school.
“I spoke to community members on the need to give the girls a second chance. Many of them have accepted,” Lekamparach says.
As a result of his efforts, 10 girls have so far enrolled in colleges and polytechnics after resuming school.
Some are pursuing beauty courses and entreprenuership. “One is in Form Four this year and we are optimistic she will perform well,” he adds.
To sustain themselves, the Binti Shujaas have formed a self-help group and registered it with the aim of equipping the teens with life skills to apply for business loans, start businesses and earn a livelihood to support their families.
Improved enrolment
Lydia Ogutu, the Afya Timiza project officer in Samburu Central says the Binti Shujaa concept is aimed at rehabilitating school-going mothers to return to school, empower adolescents girls and young women with knowledge on sexual and reproductive health.
The initiative also eases access to sexual reproductive health sevices.
The girls in the Binti Shujaa programme have a merry-go round that has helped them save upto Sh32,000.
They plan to open a wholesale shop called Binti Shujaa Logorate. The chief lauded the impact of the initiative, saying it has seen many girls go back to school and become more confident in life.
“We have seen significant drop in teenage pregnancies in this sub location. In the last three years, there has been only one pregnancy in this area,” he said.
Peter Lemuna, headteacher at Logorate Primary School, says the institution recorded increased enrolment of girls as a result of the Binti Shujaa initiative.
“In the last three years, the enrollment of girls has continued to increase. Last year, we had 70 candidates in total; 37 boys and 33 girls.
The gap is quite small compared to the past years. This year we have 35 girls registered to sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination, higher than the 24 male candidates registered for the same examination.
This is a big milestone to our community and particularly to the girls,” says Lemuna. *Name changed to protect identity
