Teen Pregnancy Awareness Week
In an effort to raise both awareness on the issue of Teen Pregnancy and its prevalence in Lesotho, as well as to increase attendance to prenatal clinics, ‘Me Semakaleng Pafoli, who works as the Family Planning coordinator for youth at the Ministry of Health, and Texys Morris, who is a Peace Corps Volunteer who works with youth groups, acted with the Ministries of Health and of Youth, Gender, Sports and Recreation to organize Teen Pregnancy Awareness Week from February 28th to March 6th. The teen pregnancy rate in Lesotho rose to 52.1% last year. This is a critical issue for Lesotho given the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This pandemic makes the issue even more pertinent as mother-to-child transmission is the main form of transmission for children under five. According to a recent study by UNICEF, females fifteen to twenty-four have a 51% sero-prevalence rate while males in the same age group have a rate of 25%. Almost three quarters of new cases appear in women aged twelve to twenty-four years.
The event was largely focused within Maseru because this is the first year of what will hopefully be an annual event. Peace Corps Volunteer, Marion Smith, worked with her organization, Good Shepherd Centre for Teen Mothers, in order to prepare several girls for information sessions throughout the week. On Wednesday, March 2nd, a teen mother spoke on Catholic Radio and another spoke on Thakhube Radio with other youth peer educators. They discussed the problem of unprotected sex and its consequences. The teen mothers described their life experiences as well as their current situation in order to educate those listening. Both mothers advocated for abstinence. The mothers answered questions from callers at the end of each session. These programs targeted the youth audience. On Friday, March 4th, a youth walked from the Main Post Office Building to the Maseru Pitso Ground in a demonstration of their commitment to the issue. They devoted the rest of the day to poems, speeches, songs and other forms of advocacy from youth. A mother from Good Shepherd Centre gave a speech about her experiences and her advice to other youth. The Ministries of Education, of Youth, Gender, Sports and Recreation, and of Health and Social Welfare all attended the event. Texys Morris held a number of discussions throughout the week with youth groups on the subject in Morija. These groups then led a fun walk on Sunday, March 6th and held a rally all day. Numerous youth groups added dramas, poems, speeches and songs to this day. The Good Shepherd Centre mothers offered several songs and two speeches to the Sunday event.
While the events were primarily focused in Maseru for the first event, the organizers and participants of the event would like to see it spread to the other nine districts with the help of Peace Corps Volunteers, youth groups and peer educators. The week is not just for pregnant mothers, but aimed at raising awareness with all youth.
Peace Corps Volunteer Marion Smith and the Good Shepherd Sisters coordinated the work of the teen mothers together. Marion Smith notified Sister Phillippina Hlobotsi and Sister Pius Phate about the event and the requests for information. She told them what information the coordinators, Texys Morris and ‘Me Semakaleng Pafoli desired. The Sisters asked the twenty-five teen mothers about their desire to participate. Many of the girls were interested in being involved and telling their stories. Sister Phillipina chose girls to participate and worked with them on their speeches. She also provided moral support to the teen mother who spoke at the Friday event. Sister Marie Theresa assisted the girls in developing the songs for the event and also with transportation coordination. She attended the Sunday event. Marion Smith kept in contact with the organizers and also wrote proposals to fund the transportation to the Sunday event in addition to the food for that day. She also accompanied the two girls who spoke on the radio for the Wednesday event. Ntate Molefi drove the Good Shepherd Centre vehicle to the Sunday event. Sister Elizabeth, Sister Cecilia and Sister Cecilia helped watch the twenty-five children at the Sunday event.