Teenage Pregnancy StealsThe Joy Of Their Youth

Teen Mothers’ Conner Buea Chapter of BAE's Pillar Foundation 

Coping with Teen Pregnancy and Teen Mothers

The chain effect that teen/adolescent pregnancy is having in the Cameroonian society today cannot be overemphasised. The challenges that are a consequence of this complex phenomenon compel one to reflect on and strategise measures to curb or eradicate such an ill and fundamental burden. BAE’s Pillar Foundation as a prolife oriented organisation has been so involved in the process of fighting against this social ill which is gradually becoming the number one detractor for our young Cameroonian girls. We as a team have already come across several teen mothers (in the Buea municipality) who are experiencing diverse psycho/social, emotional and physical challenges which require much attention from parents, teachers, friends, social welfare, etc. To better help these young girls, BAE’s Pillar Foundation has put together certain simple and plausible strategies to help eradicate this social disaster, one of these steps is in our teen mothers programme called the Teen Mothers’ Corner (TeMoCo). The Foundation’s is strictly practical in her vision and mission.

The following article is a synthesis of the experiences of the girls with whom the Foundation is working and mentoring. The Foundation did not go scouting for the girls. They, on the contrary, contacted the Foundation either through some of its activities or recommendation from those who have knowledge of its community activities. TeMoCo: Teen Mothers’ Corner is specifically a conception which has produced much desired results. With the Corner, the Foundation has created the appropriate atmosphere and circumstances to make the girls comfortable enough to have trust and confidence in opening up with regard to their present condition in terms of tracing the roots of the stranded nature of the pregnant adolescent teen, the reality of their traumas, the apportioning of blame, psycho-social redressing, and preventive strategies to keep society wholesome from continually perpetrating.   BAE’s Pillar Foundation Teen Mothers Conner: After a session with some of our teen mothers and teen girl.

-Tracing the roots  The fundamental root cause of the prevailing predicament of pregnancy in which these teens find themselves is what we have termed Parenting Ruptures; unknown fathers, indifferent fathers, rejecting fathers, alienated fathers, projecting mothers, complicated single parenthood, embittered/uncompromising parents, etc. are all non-theoretical indicators that their upbringing has been very problematic. None of the girls conceded to peer pressure. None of them heartedly desired to be pregnant. They attested never to have had any fruitful communication with their parent(s), let alone concerning adolescence and its intricate change psycho-physiological mechanisms. In fact, they were blinded by instincts which were not channelled. They have suffered lack of focus and reflect the very fate of their parents. They have hardly experienced love and parenting guidance that would have prevented them to fall in the hands of boys who undoubtedly suffer from the same problems. 

-Traumas/Psychological Distortion  Our young girls are facing the devastating effects of their being pregnant. Trauma and psychological instability are the main issues we extracted from several encounters with them. The gruesome impact of lack of or inadequate love and concern incubators during this very delicate phase, victimization/stigmatisation, psycho-physiological depression, loss of self-esteem/worth, rejection/alienation, uncertainty, improper pre-natal attention, etc, best describe their circumstances. Some have even suffered physical violence from their parents. This unfortunate situation of body and mental stress has pushed some into isolation and self-rejection; some go to the extent of contemplating committing homicide or suicide. The unborn child is already entering a chain of problems about which they know nothing. 

-Who is to Blame?: the Enigmatic Question The Foundation has realised that the blame game concerning teen pregnancy is so complex and must be handled carefully if the would be teen mother and their child are to have an appropriate existence. It is so evident that these girls find themselves guilty of their state, and feel as though they are undergoing severe punishment for the crime of pregnancy. The inescapable question remains: What caused the pregnancy? The child? The parents? The community? Who really takes the responsibility? These questions orchestrate endless debates. According to the Foundation’s investigations, there are intrinsic and extrinsic factors which must be carefully and objectively evaluated. Our pregnant teens are literally children without good parenting experience which might have lead them to avert their present circumstance. We have not found traces of waywardness in them except an extension of their single parents who had them in their teens as well. If the home malfunctions there is no doubt that the community is eroded. The child unwillingly becomes the sacrificial lamb and ironical suffers condemnation from the society which simply reflects her own weakness and incapability to come to terms with the reality.  We are arriving at the conclusion that teen pregnancy is caused by a chain of events in which the victimised/stigmatised girls tend to suffer the burden alone. Something has to be done to ensure that the singled out victim is redeemed and feels that they still have the right to live an acceptable life.

-Psycho-social ordering/reorientation BAE’s Pillar Foundation non-theoretical approach is bearing visible fruits. The impact is felt even though we are engaged in a long and continuing process of ameliorating and redressing this social issue. In the face of the prevailing circumstances measures have been taken to rehabilitate the girls in the sphere of normal life. These include effacing the parental rupture, straightening/mending the broken cycle,  provision of a conducive psychological space to interact with the pregnant teens, including teen mothers,  ensuring pre-natal guidance and follow-up; provision of pre-natal and neo-natal financial and material assistance, outreach to parents aimed at reconnecting them with children, rebuilding confidence, re-insertion to school, engendering futurity, enhancing hope and optimism, capacity building/competence in entrepreneurial and self-reliant activities. In line with our fundamental philosophy we are truly in the process of nurturing, maturing and exposing. Let’s support our pregnant daughters, let us correct them with love and compassion. Whatever the circumstances, they deserve a right to be rehabilitated and enjoy the joys of parenthood while we educate the other teens on proper comprehensive sexuality education and have proper parent child relationship with them so that we can at least reduce the rate of this social ill.  

BAE’s Pillar Foundation Teen Mothers Conner (TeMoCo) Buea: Donation of prenatal provisions for our expectant mothers.

-Preventing this Social Ailment/Malaise  The greatest challenge which the Foundation faces is the prevention of teen pregnancy and illegal abortion. Preventive measures are less demanding than curative measures as analysed above. It is in the matrix of this desire for a healthy youth society that the Foundation has come up with a related conception to TeMoCo branded as Campus Support. This is an innovative ongoing approach to outreach which necessitates intense fieldwork in school campuses. We are counselling and raising awareness of the devastating consequences of teen pregnancy and abortion, and using present teen mothers as ambassadors of change in schools and communities. We also have as a long term goal the construction of an accommodation centre for our pregnant teens and already teen mothers which will provide facilities such as counselling and guidance, vocational training, and multi-media technology. We are presently seeing to the education of some of our teen girls and also sponsoring the training of two of our already teen mothers who had a desire to learn tailoring as a means of gaining financial independence. All these strategies are in a bit to meet up with our vision to educate 500 underprivileged teen girls and to sponsor 500 start-ups business for our teen mothers. We are fervently bent not to deter our goal of engendering the best future for youths in our communities. That beautiful future is now.