By Eunice Naffie Mustapha
There are stages in life when one might trip and fall. However, what happens next determines how far one might go. Sierra Leone being bedeviled by various vices affecting girls, teenage pregnancy is one such vice that has consistently served as a hurdle. Her Story Salone Series brings you the story of 17-year-old Aminata from Waterloo.
Just a Regular Girl
With big dreams and hope of a successful life, Aminata danced through life. Life was all about going to school and becoming educated in order to fly out of poverty. Since day one, she knew she wanted a college degree and a space in the army. Aminata was just another teenage girl viewing education as the ticket to an empowered lifestyle. However, her fall started with the inability of her parents to pay a school expense in time.
She Tripped
Staying at home was the temporary solution till the sum could be saved. Living with her aunt, with her parents not in town, her family could not afford to pay expenses effectively. Aminata was born in a home where affording the basic necessities of life was a constant battle. The family survived on the pittance her aunt earned from trading (retailing foodstuff such as rice, palm oil etc.). Her stay at home period was an opportunity to help her aunt sell in order to raise the sum needed for her expenses at school.
She Fell
And then she tripped so hard, falling in love with a 19-year-old boy. This resulted into a sexual relationship with no contraceptive option chosen. Sadly, unplanned pregnancy said hello!
According to Aminata, she lacked sexual reproductive health and rights information and education at home. Even though organisations used to visit her school, the messages were mostly either too complex or not relatable. She was amongst those that would just clap to get it over with.
She did not want to become a victim of teenage-pregnancy though. It was an unplanned fall. Life was already hard on her family, and there she was adding another burden. Besides unsafe abortion was definitely not an option. Everything was bleak. What next? What next? She thought!
Getting Up
Aminata stated that after accepting her plight, it was time to move on. She could finally go back to school, but she had to return pregnant. She stated that she did not mind going to school pregnant, for her it was about getting an education. Becoming pregnant as a teenager was a hurdle she planned to jump! Her dreams were still in her heart and mind with determination to achieve them.
Fire in her eyes, she explained during her interview that she would definitely bag a degree in the future, become a soldier and open a very big shop. She would become a rich woman!
Her Call
“I want to be supported in getting items such as books, bag etc., required for school. I would appreciate support with going to college and joining the army. I also need help with catering for my child. I will advise every girl to not be engaged in sexual intercourse in order to avoid teenage pregnancy.”- Aminata
Aminata tripped, fell and now she’s working on getting up. Teenage pregnancy remains a vice that is to be curtailed. What can we do to help curtail it?
About Writer
Eunice Naffie Mustapha is a creative writer and a storyteller. She is a published author ( the author of Girlz Planete: Teenage Pregnancy). As the CEO of Nafisa Media Limited, she believes in using stories to inspire social change. At 23, she is a Sierra Leonean content writer renowned for submitting content to individuals and entities both locally and internationally.
About Sponsors
Pikin Bizness is a Non-Governmental Organization set up in 2001 with the purpose of helping vulnerable children with health problems. The organization was founded by three philanthropists: Dr Adonis Abdoud ( Chief Executive Officer), Babara Bangura and Shelac Sunny Davies. The organization has sponsored many children with holes in their hearts to undergo successful surgeries in different hospitals abroad.
Girls Plus is an initiative of the Asmaa James Foundation, driven by community-led interventions aimed at providing access to education and information on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights in Sierra Leone.
findmymethod.org is an online platform that provides reliable information on sexual reproductive health and right( eg contraceptive methods).
Photo Credit: Moseray Koroma ( Super Mos Photography): +23278145373/ +23288914840
