On Monday, January 10, 50 Ugandan teen mums resumed their education journeys as schools across the country opened their doors for the 2022 school year, thanks to the dedication and determination of Emily Nabakooza. A true Rotary Peace Fellow success story, Emily is leading social change in her country by drawing attention to the need to re-engage teen mothers in education and empowering those who have fallen pregnant as a result of sexual violence.
A graduate of the University of Queensland Rotary Peace Centre in 2019, Emily is using her Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace to fund and empower 50 Ugandan teen mothers back into school after conceiving babies during lockdown.
Led by the Rotary Club of Canberra, ACT, with generous donations from District 9705 and individual Rotarians, the program kickstarted in 2021, with the young mums now officially back in classrooms.
Throughout history, women and girls have been affected negatively, and at a disproportionately higher rate, by the outbreak of epidemics and pandemics, and COVID-19 has been no exception.
“A lost education is catastrophic to young mothers, their children, and their communities. Without re-entry to school as an option, the prospects of early marriage among school-age adolescent girls will greatly increase, as will the chances of the mothers being sexually exploited as an alternative means of survival.”
In Africa, and in particular Uganda, control and mitigation measures aimed at curbing infections, which included prolonged closure of schools, exacerbated the situation of already vulnerable populations in communities where access to critical social protection systems were already fragile.
Throughout the COVID lockdowns, Uganda’s media was awash with reports on a wide range of sexual violence against girls, including rape, sexual harassment, defilement and forced sex work, consequently leading to significant cases of unintended teen pregnancies, child mothers and forced marriages.
According to a report by Uganda Police, 3,842 cases of defilement were reported between January and July 2021. In these same months, UNICEF Uganda confirmed that district health centres in south central Uganda alone had more than 2,350 teen pregnancies registered.
Like in most developing countries, teen mothers in Uganda face social and economic hardships, including stigma, family neglect, forced marriage, illiteracy, vulnerability to gender based violence and lack of livelihood, among others. These challenges affect the wellbeing of both the mother and child.
“As part of our programming on increasing access to quality education in under-resourced communities, we are working to keep teen mothers in school by alleviating the social and other barriers they face,” Emily says.
“A lost education is catastrophic to young mothers, their children, and their communities. Without re-entry to school as an option, the prospects of early marriage among school-age adolescent girls will greatly increase, as will the chances of the mothers being sexually exploited as an alternative means of survival.”
Indeed, amidst the success of the centre’s work to get these 50 young mums back to school, they also faced challenges.
“Eight of our initially targeted young mothers were recently forced into traditional marriages,” Emily says. “This trend could have been the same for almost all these girls, but with the resources from Rotary clubs and members, we have assisted our targeted young mums escape this tragic outcome.
“When a girl who leaves school due to an unintended pregnancy is safely assisted to return back, she will most likely be protected from child marriage, stay in school, send her own children to school, engage in gainful employment, re-invest income into her family, and help lead her family and eventually her community out of poverty.”
To achieve their goal, Assisi Centre is working with its partner schools, grassroots civil society organisations with a focus on girls’ education, and community leaders, including Rotarians.
“Emily is modelling the way in which a Rotary Peace Fellow can operate after graduation,” says Desmond Woods, Project Manager of the RAWCS project ‘Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace – Uganda’.
“She is leading social change in her country by drawing attention to the need to re-engage teen mothers in education after their babies are born.
“She has single handedly negotiated free places back in their schools for these 50 young women, who would otherwise have been unable to aspire to a career requiring high school graduation.
“But this is not only a story about these 50 girls; it is about the empowerment of underaged mothers who have been made pregnant without consent and who had no agency to resist due to their life circumstances.”
Since September 2021, Emily and her team have worked to identify mothers they believe will benefit the most from Assisi Centre’s support. And on Monday, January 10, all their hard work came to fruition, when the 50 young mums stepped through their classroom doors once more.
Emily says reports from the partner schools where the girls are re-enrolled are very positive.
“One headteacher reported that ‘The girls look very excited! All other students are supportive, and the teachers are ensuring they are as comfortable and engaged in classroom activities as everyone else’.
“We expect that the participating mothers will be empowered to stay in school and defend their right to education. This opportunity will not only raise their self-esteem but their status in their households and communities, give them a chance to engage in decisions about their own lives, and take their rightful place in society.”
The Rotary Club of Canberra, ACT, welcomes financial support from clubs and individuals for Assisi Centre’s work in assisting Ugandan teen mothers back to school. Tax deductible donations can be made via Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) – project number 31-2021-22. Visit donations.rawcs.com.au/31-2021-22 Donations will go towards buying school uniforms, underwear, dignity kits, books, and writing materials. Alternatively, any club or individual wishing to assist Emily through RAWCS or directly to Assisi Centre can contact Desmond Woods via 0427 663 449 or desmond.woods51@hotmail.com. For more information on Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace, visit www.acesjp.org
