Muheza — LIVING the life of a vulnerable child is something many people would not wish to have. But how many people really know the exact pain of living in that environment?
Probably, that is why quite a lot of people may never understand the story of Pia Elias, who conquered the hearts of people who attended the launch of School Health Assessment, organized by the Arushabased World Education Incorporated (WEI/Bantwana) at Tingeni Primary School in Muheza District Pia who had been prepared by the school and psychoanalysts to narrate her ordeal to the visitors had to interrupt her story because she could not control her emotions.
She sobbed before the visitors who included the then Muheza District Commissioner, Mathew Nasei. People who heard her story were to learn later that even after so much suffering, Pia managed to pass her primary school final examinations and was selected for Form one at a ward school. However, she had to drop from school after discovering that she was pregnant. Somebody decided to take advantage of her problems, put her in the family way and abandoned her.
Pia does not want to mention his name even after being beaten by her aunt, Mama Rukia Shaaban of Tingeni Village, Muheza District. Pia's problems reveal challenges facing most vulnerable children, especially girls in the region. According to an Education Officer in the Regional Education Office, Makuburi Omari Abdallah, Pia was even lucky to have completed standard seven as many don't.
Her ordeal was, as she was preparing to sit for her final standard seven examinations, her uncle was reported to have already made plans to marry her off. In fact, a report indicated that the uncle had already received dowry from a suitor who was living in Dar es Salaam and all attempts to make him back off proved futile. The school management had summoned the uncle to ask him to suspend the marriage arrangements but he would not budge.
"The uncle thought the best way to avoid caring for Pia was to marry her off to any suitor," said Tingeni Primary School Head Teacher Mrs Mallya, who thought the uncle has been thinking about expenses he might forced to bear when Pia is selected for secondary education.
The village government had also dealt with the issue by summoning and warning the uncle against such a move while the District Commissioner directed officials of the District to follow up the matter and take necessary action to save Pia from being married off prematurely.
The efforts bore fruit and Pia was able to continue with her studies and in fact WEI/ Bantwana went even further to pay her pre-form one tuition studies to prepare her for secondary education. "Our aim was to assist her by transferring her to a boarding school where we believed she could continue with her studies undisturbed," said Ms. Lilian Badi, the Director of WEI/ Bantwana.
Makuburi explaining the situation on school pregnancies said that, for instance, the number of girls who did not take exams in 2012 due to pregnancy doubled from 22 in 2011 to 49 last year (2012 with Handeni District, leading with nine girls in 2011 and doubling up to 17 in 2012.) At the national level, according to the Deputy Minister for Community Development Gender and children, Ummy Ally Mwalimu, Tanzania is one of the countries with the highest number of child pregnancies, with 16,999 girls dropping out of school in 2006 to 2009.
The Deputy Minister says that school truancy among girls has increased from 11,264 girls in 2009, which is equivalent to 36.2 per cent to 48,026 in 2010, which is equivalent to 72.7 per cent. She said that these challenges and many more have contributed to the dwindling number in girls who perform well in school, saying that in last year's form four examinations, only 7 per cent of girls passed.
She said that the society is supposed to invest heavily in girl's education, saying this is a proven way of tackling poverty in most developing nations. Major problems for such girls succumbing to pregnancy include inability to get a full diet, school needs and others but Mrs. Mallya seemed at loss why Pia who managed to attract assistance from WEI/Bantwana failed to resist temptations.
Pia had emphasized in interview at the Roman Catholic centre in Tanga soon after completing Standard Seven that she was in no mood to listen to her uncle, although she explicitly said she did not want him to be jailed for receiving dowry is now, according to her aunt Mama Rukia Shaaban and her sister Subira, a very frustrated girl who does not know what to do with her life after delivering the child.
"She seems to shy away from us and the village in general after her pregnancy because she knows our stand on education," said Subira, adding that "our anger is knowing that an organization had come to her help but she has thrown away the opportunity".
Mrs. Mallya feels let down but says perhaps the type of life she has been experiencing could have had an effect on her attitude which could lead her to being seduced by amorous men. Mama Rukia of Tingeni Village, in Muheza District who nearly went bonkers when she realized, in December, last year, that her niece was pregnant, could be excused for taking an extreme action of beating her.
"Pia had just been selected to join form one at a ward Secondary School in Tingeni after months of intervention activities that saved her from being married off by an unscrupulous uncle who was reported to have already "eaten" dowry from a young man residing in Dar es Salaam. So I couldn't help it," she said. She simply refused to go to school, but later realized she was pregnant.
They were surprised because a few months ago she felt excited and hopeful at the prospects of assistance from WEI/Bantwana. Such problems are better explained in articles written in blog called 'eHow. com: Discover the expert in you' on Psychological Issues with Teenage Pregnancy by eHow Contributor, Kristin Wood.
Wood says that Teen pregnancy can be a physical, financial and academic challenge for young expectant mother. "Issues that get overlooked are the psychological affects. Teen mothers need more than just ultrasounds, financial support, and college and career guidance.
They need someone to talk to; someone who can walk them through any emotional issues they are facing and who can help them realize that they are not alone- -many pregnant teenagers feel and behave in the same way," Wood points out. She mentions denial as one dangerous reaction to a positive pregnancy test. Many teens will delay telling their parents, the father or a doctor what is going on.
Procrastinating these crucial choices or refusing to seek medical attention is dangerous for both the mother and the baby. In extreme cases, the girl might keep herself in denial until labour begins. This denial can occasionally be transferred to friends and family as well, resulting in parents who subconsciously ignore the physical changes they observe in their daughter.
Another psychological reaction is guilt which commonly plagues teenagers who discover that they have conceived. "Whether this is a religious guilt or guilt for letting down their family and friends, it is a psychological issue that needs to be dealt with. Talking with a parent, teacher or counsellor could help the teenager put her new situation in a better perspective," Woods says.
She points out that rather than focusing on what could have been done differently in the past, it is more helpful to focus on what can be done today. "The teenager might also find comfort in talking with the people she feels she has let down. Often, she will discover that they are supportive and willing to help.
If not, it is time to find a better support group," she explains. Psychoanalysts put the blame squarely on the system. At its essence, a child welfare system should protect society's most vulnerable children from abuse and neglect and fill the role of "prudent parent" for the children it takes into care.
According to Ms Badi, a summary of the counselling experience proves how children and adolescents need support to handle normal developmental issues such as coping with loss and grief so as to feel normal and fitin with peers and society at large.
"This supports the maxim that there is no good health or any other development without mental health," said Ms. Badi. The School Health Assessment programme is being executed as part of the five-year Most Vulnerable Children (MVC) Coordinated Care Programme (Pamoja Tuwalee) initiative being supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) through the USAID.
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