DIFFICULTY FACED BY SINGLE MOTHERS OF THE KIBERA POOR SLUM

Young single girls who become pregnant face three alternatives. She may marry the father; if she is in school or just in same college /community, she most likely will drop out if in college or school. The marriage as well as the pregnancy may be un preferred and soon result in neglect or abandonment, often experiencing societal disapproval and economic hardship. Or she may have an abortion, typically illegal and unsafe.” due to their financial condition or status.
In one of the conference I attended one of the facilitator quoted that “If girls go through with the pregnancy, the risk of complications or of dying in childbirth are much greater than if she had delayed childbearing until physically mature.
Those who survive face livelihood issues. Duncan stresses the importance of schooling and vocational training for young, outcast mothers. There are numerous projects, such as the ysmeg in kianda kibera’s programme which provide opportunities for alternative life style and tactics to girls who have been expelled from school or abandoned by their family.
“Most schools including Government ones prefer not to readmit those who get pregnant while in school even though there is no law barring them,” says Duncan. “    In addition, young mothers become adults directly after childhood without the intervening phase of adolescence.” sound fanny!
A unique aspect of her organization, Duncan says, is that in addition to their work with young mothers they focus on what he calls ‘positive leaving’. She points out that there is a lopsided focus in the government as well as on the part of international support on girl-specific initiatives, most Ngos does support only education but their need to develop environment that is inclusive and able to incorporate all kind of life style as of this nature, therefore there is a great need to develop practical life rather than theoretical one
“Male sexual education, awareness and employment skills are equally important. If we are to address the problem of teenage pregnancy and single mothers, boys will have to be given as much attention as the girls. Sadly, all the national and international funding is for girls-focused programme. Boys are being left out and it is showing negative results already,” says Duncan , who thinks male youth are under more pressure and receive little attention for their problems, these group of people are not positively attended to even by their own parent therefore the society is loosing the balance
The fact is that with this agenda. “The problem of single mothers, street children, prostitution and HIV/AIDS cannot be addressed in isolation from the male component of society. We’ll have to engage vulnerable people on both sides of the gender divide.” in order to realize positive impact in the society