The United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology, Irish Aid, British Department for International
Development (DfID), United Nations Population Fund, has visited a learning
centre constructed for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers in Freetown.
During the visit on
Tuesday, 17 November, UNICEF Country Representative, Geoff Wiffin said
education was a great investment in the dev elopement of any nation and that
every girl has the right to be educated, despite the situation they found
themselves in.
He continued that they
decided to support the government to set up a special education programme to
help pregnant girls and adolescent mothers continue their education.
“Teenage pregnancy is a
pervasive problem in Sierra Leone that was made worse by the Ebola crisis. The closure of schools, combined with
economic hardship, led poor and vulnerable families to use desperate means to
survive. A significant amount of girls
get pregnant during the crisis,” he said.
One of the
beneficiaries, Umu Kamara, expressed her satisfaction to the donors for the
opportunity to return to school after her unfortunate ordeal.
“When I became pregnant
my dreams of becoming a lawyer were shattered, but this programme has made me
realize that all is not lost. My dreams
are gradually becoming true. I am determined
to be a lawyer to continue to nation building,” she said.
Pregnant girls and
adolescent mothers at the centre attend classes three times a week to continue
learning until they are able to return to the regular school system.
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