TEENAGE PREGNANCY RESCURE CENTER

My Name is Jonan Nandolo the Team Leader of Intern 256 an organization founded to provide hands-on international development and cultural immersion experiences to students and professionals. We strive to facilitate sustainable change in communities in Uganda by bringing together the voices of the community, the ongoing efforts of local groups and organizations, and the local resources identified in the community and connecting them with international students, professional, and donors who want to make a difference.

This year, we had planned on helping our communities in Busoga Region with a Center to care for girls with teenage pregnancies which have seemed rampant in the country. By the nature of our set up, we had hoped to relay on our interns and volunteer’s participation fees to set up the center but the pandemic caught us by surprise and we couldn’t receive the expected Human resource and funds.

Uganda has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa with over 25% pregnancies among teenagers registered every year. The 2014 Uganda population census faults this on the immense sexual reproductive health problems. The biological onset of adolescence brings not only changes to teenage girls’ bodies but also new vulnerabilities particularly in the areas of sexuality, marriage, and childbearing. Many of these girls in Uganda drop out of school involuntarily due to these unwanted pregnancies at such a tender age, some of them are forced to marry the same men who defiled them while others are forced to take responsibility of their children and are resigned to a life of domestic chores.

Its from this point that we want to set up a center to help address the emotional and physical well being of the girls plus restore their self-esteem in their communities. This center will offer a temporary shelter to the rejected girls, provide counselling to the traumatized, and also provide other programs like Vocational training, and Health/infant care.

I thus appeal to everyone out their to PLEASE take a minute and think of what these girls go through everyday and the trauma that’s caused to them. This center might just be the answer someone out their needs to build their life back to normal and have a purpose in life.

I would be happy if you could use the [Help by sharing] button to share about my project!