EARLY CHILDHOOD PREGNANCIES & PROSTITUTION - KENYA

The project has been rolled out in Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, Busia among other counties which needs to be rolled out too.  The imminent challenge being poverty which makes these groups of young women to be involved in sexual challenges; others are forced to sell themselves in order to get their daily food, and sustain their families on the same.  Example of the areas in Kisumu city where there trend is rampant and Mombasa within the coastal region due to tourism attraction. The young women/children as we can call it prefer to be call up girls during evening and others are forced by their guardians who take advantage of their innocence to carter for their lives instead of making sure that their children receive better education and meaningful work in the society.  We as MCMC(K) has for years advocated for the rights of young girls and educated young girls on their rights of education hence oversaw the challenges they undergo

Most of these girls lack alternative in securing best education to them hence their only alternative is to undergo prostitution which leads to early child bearing not to mention early child birth and unwanted sexualy transmitted diseases.

They are prone to disease since they cant bagain their way for use of condoms from their clients and hence the numbers have increased from the age group 15 - 25 who are more vulnerable to the young men same to old who pray of them.

MCMC(K) has come up with mechanisms to educate them and start an SME programmes for them so that they can manage themselves instead of relying on prostitution which has been having negative impact on their lives.  Most of these young girls have not accomplished their lower school education leave alone reaching adolescent.

We encourage our well wishers to assist us in foreseeing that these groups sucees in SME is achievable and maintained as they can sustain themselves.

Child prostitution in the slums is on the rise, reports have indicated. The areas previously known for criminal activities, especially during election campaigns, have become dens of sin where young girls entertain their clients at fees as low as Sh50. Residents of Manyatta, Obunga and Nyawita slums have raised the alarm over the trend, saying it has seen an increase in sexual exploitation of school children. Eighteen-year-old Mercy (not her real name), a resident of Manyatta who is undergoing rehabilitation after engaging in the activity for the last five years, admitted to having been recruited by friends.
She dropped out of school at Form Two and started practising prostitution. "My father died and my mum had to take care of our family of six children. She could not provide for us adequately so I used to beg from my friends who consequently told me there were cheaper ways of getting money," she said. Mercy said one day she sat at a club entrance in town with her friends who went away with men for a few minutes and returned with money. "I was not lucky that day and I left without a single cent. But my friends shared their earnings with me. It looked interesting and easy and I went back the following day and got clients," she said. "I later escaped from home and that is how my schooling ended." Her friend, now 21, said she was also lured into prostitution by friends. Unlike her friends, she met a man during a night out who offered her Sh20,000 for a session. She was in Form Two then and was struggling with school fees. "I discovered it was not hard, and I could escape from school to meet the man, and more men came. I finally dropped out of school," she said. The two are among other girls undergoing rehabilitation courtesy of a volunteer, Nancy Ochieng, who has been rescuing the girls. Ms Ochieng said poverty pushes most girls into prostitution as most of their parents are unemployed and it is hard for them to earn a living. "Most schools around have no lunch programme and children have to buy. Some men lure those who do not have money by buying them lunch, which they later pay for through their bodies. But as they grow up, the girls find it a source of income," she added. During the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers in December last year, Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance said they had concerns that some sex workers were recruiting children. County Children Officer Charles Ondogo said, "Our sub-county officers have been working on the issue and one remedy was to have licensing agencies check on bars and clubs which admit children and take action against them.

One of the local Daily Newspapers reported a shocking story  how sex in Kisumu city is on high demand to the extent that a classy one will set you back Sh200, while in some places like Kondele, you can have sex with Sh50 or even less depending what type of sex and how long you have it. Men who do not want to use protection pay double.

According to the report Kutuma salamu (a euphemism for giving head) cost only Sh20 in Kondele and Sh100 in higher-end red light spots. Most of the bamba 50s come wearing bathroom slippers, but they are adored because they are pocket friendly.

Some even offer credit services and ‘invoice’ their clients at the end of the month. Others are nearly ‘married’ to clients as they even cook, wash and iron for their regular male clients who pay handsomely — say Sh300 a night.

At Dunga Beach, along the shores of Lake Victoria of Kisumu, sex can be offered for exchange of fish. Women and young girls attract fishermen on the style they dress, with neatly plaited hair and good look. Some of these women are not tied to one fisherman, but will sleep with whoever offers the best deal on any given day.

Most of the fishermen would rather have sex with the young girls than have sex with their mother’s age-mates. Some of the men are not conscientious about using condoms; they will use a condom if a girl brings one along, but if she doesn’t, they will have unprotected sex.

Girls in Nyanza are said to begin sexual activity earlier than their counterparts in other regions: the average girls in Nyanza according to the report starts having sex aged 16, compared to 19 in Nairobi Province.

Recent report that on two separate incidents a group of form four students from Onjiko High school in Kisumu county reportedly sneaked their way in to two neighboring girls schools, namely Rae and Ahero Girls secondary schools allegedly on a sex quest mission can tell it all.

According to the principal of Onjiko Boys High school Mr. Alfred Ochiel, five form four boys from his school sneaked out of their school at 8.pm on the night of 21 July and went to Rae Girls which is almost 10 kilometers away where he alleged the students were received by a group of waiting form four Girls from the girls school who then went on to engage in sex.

While some girls and boys engage in sex at a tender age for money, some are said to be influenced by pornography. At Kisumu Day and Lela Day secondary schools for example, teachers decry the high number of pornographic materials accessible to the students.

A number of the boys who have been treated for having sexually transmitted infections, especially gonorrhoea, admitted to have slept with prostitutes to experiment the styles they saw in the pornographic materials.

A 12-year-old standard six pupil at St Mark Primary School in Kisumu admitted to her teacher that she was lured into sex when her boy friend showed her a pornographic video, he told her he was going to also try to feel the way the people in the video were feeling. Since then the girl became addicted to sex and would like to have it almost every time.

It is also a coincidence that men in Kisumu generally marry later than those in other towns, as recently revealed by the Kenya Urban Reproductive Health Baseline Survey. This is because sex workers are affordable and can offer ‘extra.

The survey shows that Kisumu has the highest number of males of between 15 to 24 years, constituting 42 per cent of the total area population. In the study men in Kisumu generally marry, later than those in other towns but they end up getting as many children or more than the men in other cities surveyed.

Some of the underage girls who offer sex for either money or fish are orphans whose parents had died. One such orphan girl who offered sex for money is Nancy who even bought land and established a home, which she turned into an orphanage.

Nancy according to the story started helping widows, orphans and street children. The children had left home to beg in the streets of Kisumu after being orphaned. No one was ready to look after them.

The report comes barely three months since a pastor was caught red handed, making love to somebody’s wife. A pastor of legio Maria sect (name withheld), was caught pants down, having a “good time” with someone’ wife, in one of the houses at the Kisumu Lower Railway estates.

It is also in Kisumu where a bishop of a protestant church was caught two years ago in a compromising situation with a wife of an intelligence officer in a Kisumu Hotel. The bishop who happens to be related to the intelligence officer was said to have been dating the young woman for a decade.

Last year a clergyman was also accused of having a love affair with a married woman in the city. The youthful clergyman who according to Crazy Monday took refuge in Kisumu after a teacher he was alleged to have cuckolded attacked him and smashed his car windscreen. Police arrested the teacher and booked him for malicious damage to property early last week.

Schools raise the alarm over pregnant students
 

Education stakeholders have expressed concern over increasing cases of pregnant students in schools in Kisumu County. And with the government policy that requires that the students be allowed in school, teachers are forced to look the other way. The schools management allow the girls to attend clinics, are excused from some co-curriculum activities, and parents and guardians bring nutritious meals for them. The Ministry of Education said they have no statistics on the pregnancy cases in secondary schools. "We do not have statistics of student pregnancies. The only report I have is a case from Thur Gem Secondary School (in Nyakach Sub County) where the girl disappeared after realising she was pregnant," said County Director of Education

Sabina Aroni. She said most of the cases are handled at the sub county levels, hence her office does not have information about the matter. Nyanza Initiative for Girl child Education and Empowerment, an organisation which rehabilitates girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy, warned that the situation is slowly getting out of hand. Organisation Programs Coordinator Godfrey Okumu said getting statistics on the issue has been a major challenge which has affected intervention mechanisms. Released "Previously it would be easier to get such information from stakeholders, but now days pregnant girls are allowed to continue learning so most of the cases go unnoticed," he said. The Saturday Standard survey found that the pregnancy cases ranged between two and seven in every school. St Barnabas Girls' Secondary School in Seme recorded the highest number of pregnancy cases with seven girls; five in Form Four and two in Form One. School Principal Mercy Olando confirmed that the girls pregnancies range between two and seven months. She said they conduct regular pregnancy tests. At the

neighbouring Mariwa Secondary School, five students are pregnant. One has since been released to go and deliver. The Principal Dick Ochieng said: "This is a day school and we only keep the girls till 4pm. After that, they are with their parents and we have discovered that this is where the challenge is." At Ratta Mixed Secondary School a Form Four students is pregnant.

Hence with these trend and numbers we cannot control each and every section of the environment though MCMC(K) is trying its best to foresee that we work with noble persons in reducing these trend in our societies