Raped into motherhood at 14, Kibra child yearns to go back to class

The weather is gloomy as we worm our way into the heart of the slum, perhaps foreshadowing the tales of pain, anguish and frustration awaiting us.

There are thousands of shacks, with streams of raw, untreated sewage meandering between them.

Kibra, Africa’s second-largest urban slum after Soweto in South Africa, accommodates approximately 2.5 million people in about 200 settlements.

More than 60 per cent of the Nairobi population lives here, in what accounts for just six per cent of the city’s land, according to Kibera.org.uk.

A young woman – a child actually – whom we find doing laundry, is excited but nervous to see us.

Nanjala (not her real name) lives with an older woman who took her in after her parents died when she was a child.

The guardian, however, is a Stage 4 stomach cancer patient whom she has to take care of and provide for.

It’s unfortunate that we have to ask her to relive an ordeal that turned her life topsy-turvy.

“That afternoon in 2019, we were in school and out for games. I thoroughly enjoyed playing football with my friends,” she finally opens up.

This was to be her final year and, according to her school records, which nation.africa saw, she used to be among the top in her class.

They loved extending playtime like many children her age.

Little did she know that on this dreadful day, the big bully on the playground would change her life forever.

“He was a fellow pupil and much older than myself. He cornered and grabbed me, tore my clothes and underwear, pulled out a knife and, holding it by my neck, repeatedly raped me,” the victim said.

The child was too helpless to do anything. The pain in her knew no bounds.

Collecting what was left of herself after the lad took off, the defenseless girl crawled home. She informed her parents about the ordeal five days later and they took her to hospital and then to the children department, but there is no documentation to prove it.

“The police never do anything and residents here don’t see the need of going to them because after reporting, what else?” the child’s guardian retorted.

According to a 2019 study done by Security Research and Information Centre, daily crime is a reality for many residents of Kibra slum.

Considering more than 50 per cent of the slum population is unemployed, in one to three months, 98.8 per cent of slum residents reported witnessing a crime.

A resilient Nanjala defied the odds to sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams while expecting a baby born of rape. And despite the ordeal and mental turmoil, she passed.

“I even found a sponsor to facilitate my high school journey last year and joined Form One, but when he noticed I was heavily pregnant as I could no longer hide it, he pulled out after paying fees for a term.

“You see, even if my child is a product of rape, I believe in preserving life. At some point they tried to talk me into considering abortion but I refused. My conscience doesn’t allow me to do certain things,” the teen explained.

Her second sponsors informed her that due to challenges occasioned by the  Covid-19 pandemic, they were unable to fund her education after parting with Sh13,000.

As Nanjala comes to terms with her new normal, she says all her heart desires is to go back to class.

The 16-year-old would later be introduced to a Christian group that offers underage girls bringing up children free counselling.

“Some girls think raising a child is a joke. They usually tell me they would love to be mothers at my age too. If you have a chance to go to school, please focus and study hard because some of us out here are dying for such an opportunity,” she advises.

The young mother reveals many men in the slum try to take advantage of girls her age.

“I try to counsel my age-mates because around here we have these spots where boys hang out to watch football and ‘DJ Afro’ movies. Young girls camp there too. They call it ‘hunting’ and they do it for money to buy pads and food. They are paid Sh50 to Sh200 to sleep with a man.

“You see, with the coronavirus crisis there is no school, no playgrounds or anything to keep them occupied, but as for me I have to think about what my baby will eat and so I wash clothes for people to raise money,” Nanjala says.

She told nation.africa some older women in the area advise young girls who have given birth to look for older men who can provide and take them in as wives.

Read: My futile search for answers on children’s wellbeing

Also read: A story of gender-based violence; but where are the safe homes?

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which made 2021 the year of tackling sexual exploitation of children, which it considers a form of child labour, the vice has decreased by 38 per cent in the last decade but 152 million children are still affected.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has considerably worsened the situation, but joint and decisive action can reverse this trend,” the global agency states on its official website.

Early this year, ILO launched the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour to encourage legislative and practical actions to eradicate child labour worldwide.

Target 8.7 of the organisation asks member states to put in place immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.

“There is no place for child labour in society,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said in January during the virtual launch.

“It robs children of their future and keeps families in poverty.

This International Year is an opportunity for governments to step up and achieve Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by taking concrete actions to eliminate child labour for good.

With Covid-19 threatening to reverse years of progress, we need to deliver on promises now more than ever.”

Almost half of child labour happens in Africa (72 million children), followed by Asia and the Pacific (62 million).

Teenage pregnancy crisis in figures

The Kenya Health Information System (KHIS) highlights high cases of adolescent pregnancy for the period January to December 2019 and January to December 2020.

Kibra in figures

Accommodates approximately 2.5 million people

Slum has 200 settlements

60 per cent of the Nairobi population lives in slum, which occupies just 6 per cent of the land 

50 per cent of population is unemployed

In one to three months, 98.8 percent of residents reported witnessing a crime.

Facts on child labour crisis

January – ILO made 2021 the international year for the elimination of child labour globally.

Child labour decreased by 38 per cent in the last decade but 152 million children are still affected globally.

ILO’s Target 8.7 – asks member states to put in place measures to ensure they end all forms of child labour by 2025.

Almost half of child labour happens in Africa (72 million children), followed by Asia and the Pacific (62 million).

Compiled by Leon Lidigu, [email protected]

Source:  Kibera.org.uk, Security Research and Information Centre, International Labour Organisation (ILO)