Joy as nursing teen joins Form One

Emotions ran high in Kikambala, Kilifi County, when a 14-year-old mother of a six-month-old baby joined Form One in a boarding school.

Many girls drop out of school due to the stigma associated with teen pregnancy.

Ms Rose Mbeyu (not her real name) sat her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams while nursing a one-month-old baby.

A 27-year-old neighbour, whom she had entrusted with the safekeeping of money she earned washing other people’s clothes, made her pregnant.

This happened after schools were closed as part of measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would give him the money I earned from my laundry work or by selling firewood and from other odd jobs. I feared that if I left it in the house my siblings would steal it,” she said, adding that she lives with her mother and nine siblings.

The 14-year-old decided to work after realising what her father earned in Mombasa was not enough to feed the family.

She recounted to the Nation the events of the day when the father of her baby, a married boda boda rider, slept with her.

“He told my friend that he wanted to take us to the beach. We hopped onto his motorcycle. My friend left me with him near a bush. He then started touching me and asked me to lie down. We argued but he forced me to lie down,” she said.

Ms Mbeyu told the man that she could not do what he wanted because she and his wife were friends.

“He told me that was not an issue,” she recounts.

Ms Mbeyu was shocked when the man later said he had already made her pregnant.

“He said in a few months I was going to be a mother. I did not understand, until I missed my monthly period," she said.

The man is still free even after the girl’s mother reported the matter to the police.

Ms Mbeyu, however, is all smiles after a group of cyclists called Wheels of Hope offered to raise funds to buy necessities and pay her boarding school fees.

Her mother takes care of the baby when Ms Mbeyu is away in school.

“I am happy that I am back in school. I would like to be a teacher in future and inspire other girls,” she said.

Wheels of Hope coordinator Esther Mali negotiated with the school to allow Ms Mbeyu to visit and breastfeed her daughter on weekends.

“Her mother may not afford to pay her school fees but she is happy that her daughter is back to school. This will inspire other girls who have given birth while in school to know there is always a second chance,” said Ms Mali.

The group has also set up a day-care centre for teen mothers, who it encourages to go back to school.

The group relies on volunteers to provide clothes, food and upkeep for children from morning to 4pm, when their mothers or caregivers pick them up.

Ms Mbeyu pleaded with well-wishers to help other teen mothers to raise their children and complete their education.

Reporting by Siago Cece, Farhiya Hussein and Maureen Ongala