By Soni Daniel

There are many of them stranded out there. And, it seems clear that it is difficult for them to be able to keep themselves afloat or to return to the classroom after missing the first opportunity.   They are found everywhere across the length and breadth of Nigeria. They are young. Some are strikingly beautiful and others are awful. But they have one thing in common: frustration, arising from unwanted pregnancy that has put a wedge between them and their parents on one hand and their future on the other hand.

These are young mothers who took in while in school or did so even before they had the chance to go to school. Some of them have one child, others have two but they all lack the means of livelihood to take care of themselves and their children. While some are still willing and ready to return to school, others have lost the support of their aggrieved parents, who have in many cases disowned them for bringing shame and reproach to their families.

As it is, they have been left on their own to be buffeted by the vicissitudes of life, troubled on all sides, and left at the mercy of cruel fate. Fear, hopelessness and uncertainty now dog their lives as a timeless mirage. Their future is bleak and tainted with sorrow and regrets. This is the fate that has befallen young schoolgirls who were lured into the family way and they suddenly became mothers overnight, putting themselves on harm’s way and halting their education.

SBF intervention programme

But last week, a non-governmental organization, Sephamid Bridge Foundation, SBF, came out in full swing to give succor to the young mothers. The group rolled out a plan to return the girls to school and reintegrate them into the society. The project known as ‘Back to School Initiative’, BSi, is aimed at equipping the mothers with the necessary tools to return to school and to guide them to be gainfully employed at the end of their studies.

It is also aimed enhancing human development through encouraging the young mothers to embrace education and have access to job opportunities. The first phase of the programme was launched at a rural community of Ewu-Ekiti in Ilejemeje Local Government of Ekiti State with fanfare. There, old, young and middle-aged women and youths turned out in large numbers to witness the take-off of the pilot scheme. Some came to ascertain if indeed, it was real while others, with a sense of curiosity, thronged the venue to see if the young mothers had really turned a new leaf.

At the event, the National Coordinator of SBD, Mr. Dayo Ayeni, described the foundation as an all-inclusive, people-oriented and development-conscious agency out to tackle societal ills and give succor to the weak and vulnerable but with specific focus on the adolescent and teenage mothers. According to Ayeni, the SBF will provide opportunities for both teenage mothers in and out of school in a bid to arrest the growing population of such persons in the society and provide a better future for them.

“The in-school programme is where adolescent are educated and sensitized on the right health services and practices. It is our strong belief that lack of such health information places them at the risk of getting unwanted pregnancy, abortion, Sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and the likes,” Ayeni said.

With songs and dances to cheer up the young mothers and others, the community roared into a carnival-like momentum, thanking the agency for its pro-people agenda. We will stand with you all the way to bring help to these young women, a community leader, Chief Joseph Ademola, assured them group.

Like the community leader, the Assistant Director in Public Health in the State Ministry of Health, Mrs Adewemimo, expressed the appreciation of the ministry to the vision of the group and promised to work with it to achieve the aim of the project of taking teenage mothers out of penury back to school.

Adewemimo said “What you have done today in this area is a laudable programme worthy of support by all stakeholders in the health and education sectors and should be extended to all parts of this country.” Also speaking at the event, the Ilejemeje Local Government School Health Officer, Mrs. Ajiboye, praised the work being done by SBF and prayed for its success in the years ahead.

Highpoint of the event was the distribution of gift items to babies of the teenage mothers for participating in the programme and to encourage them to keep hope alive for a brighter future.

Responding on behalf of the young mothers, Miss Faseluka Yemisi said that they were encouraged by the benevolence spirit of SBF and would return to school to start their lives all over again. She said they had realized the mistake they all made and were willing to turn a new leaf in the light of the new information brought to their doorsteps by the foundation.

“We have decided from today to reorganize our lives, take bold steps to focus on our future and to focus on what will enable us to accomplish our dreams,” Yemisi pledged. SBF is planning to bring similar programmes to other parts of Nigerian in the months ahead.