Sharon gets a 'second chance' to return home and at school after early pregnancy
UNICEF positive parenting programmes causing change in Kasese District
17-year-old Sharon Atugonza (not real names) lives with her maternal aunt, Ms Kabugho Teopista in Munkunyu Sub-County, Kistutu village in Kasese District. The district is one of the Child Protection learning districts where UNICEF is supporting Government to create a comprehensive protection system to prevent and respond to violence against children and women. Ms. Teopista has been taking care of Sharon since she was one year old when she lost both her parents to HIV/AIDS. At the age of 14 while in Primary five, Sharon became pregnant by a 15-year-old secondary school boy from her village.
In Kasese District, spanking, beating and other forms of harsh disciplining are acceptable and considered the norm. It is therefore no surprise that Sharon’s guardian felt that disowning and expelling her from the family home was the most befitting punishment for ‘disgracing her family’. She was instructed to ‘go and stay with the person responsible for her pregnancy.’
She was instructed to ‘go and stay with the person responsible for her pregnancy.’
In 2017 Mukunyu sub-county in Kasese District with support from UNICEF organized positive parenting programmes through community dialogues with parents and caregivers where positive disciplining, nurturing and general positive interactions at family level were promoted. At the community dialogue meetings, the parents were further encouraged to give their children who had dropped out of school an opportunity for a “second chance’’. Ms. Teopista who was one of the participants says that what struck her most during the dialogues was the statement that ‘If you support children especially a girl child, she can even be as useful as the boy child in future”. When she shared Sharon’s story, she was asked by the Community Development Officer (CDO) to visit her office for follow up discussions. When Ms. Teopista went to the CDOs office, she immediately informed the CDO that she had reflected more on what she learnt during the dialogue meetings and has decided to welcome Sharon back home and take her back to school.
Meanwhile, the boy’s family was preparing to visit Sharon’s family to pay her ‘dowry’ signifying intention for formalizing marriage between the two children (the 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy). After prolonged discussions between the CDO and both families, Ms. Teopista succeeded in taking Sharon back home. Ms. Teopista supported Sharon through pregnancy and childbirth. When Sharon’s baby was weaned, she returned to her former school where she continued her education. She is currently in the Primary seven at Munkunyu primary school getting ready for secondary school. Sharon wants to be a champion of children’s rights in her community, and she plans to continually reach out to girls in her community to ‘encourage them to avoid getting pregnant or married at an early age. Her worry is that while she loves school and would like to continue with her studies, she may not be able to transition to secondary school due to lack of school fees.
When asked about the key lessons learned during the dialogue on positive parenting, Teopista proudly says ‘being friendly to children’ was one of her key takeaways. She further explains that when you are friendly to the children, it is easy for them to trust and approach you when they have problems.
"It also makes it easier for you as a parent to offer them advice or guidance,"
She has come to appreciate this positive development in her home being a mother to 8 children, 7 of whom are her biological children.
