• Creaw Kenya helps them form groups and apply for loans to initiate projects
Image: ALPHONCE GARI
Life as a single mother can be overwhelming, more so if you are a teenager. Martha Septemba did not know how she would raise her child when she gave birth in Kilifi.
Septemba, who hails from Mwabayanyundo in Kayafungo ward, says her child was three years old when she got training from the Centre For Rights Education and Awareness Kenya (Creaw Kenya).
She and other young mothers formed a group called Kaloleni Young Mothers to help address cases of gender-based violence in the area, which were rampant.
She says their group was among those identified by Creaw for training to help end GBV among women and girls. The training addresses poverty among girls, which leads them to engage in sex in exchange for money to buy pads.
Septemba says the programme by Creaw is important for them as young mothers because it helps them address cases of teenage pregnancies and deal with perpetrators to get justice.
"We began working to help young girls in advocating against teenage pregnancies, how to end them, and supporting the victims on how they could uplift their living standards," she said.
The community champion says through empowerment, she got to learn how to survive with her child and also create awareness.
"Most girls who fall victim to teenage pregnancy usually lose hope after getting pregnant but after engaging them, sensitising them on how they can move on and raise their standards of living, there was a positive change in the society," she said.
Septemba said through their association, they came together and decided to take loans from the Kilifi government so as to sustain and uplift their livelihoods for the better.
Initially, the women were not aware that they could form groups and apply for loans to initiate projects, but the training done by Creaw helped them take action.
More than 70 women have been engaged in their association and shared their experiences at the family level, after which they were able to create awareness and begin to tackle the challenges they faced.
It's due to this that she personally began to transform her life economically. Socially, she felt she was getting younger and stronger than before when she had lost hope after being left to bring up her child.
"I have assisted groups who came up with their own groups and began applying for loans, and the move has really helped spread awareness at the grassroots level," she says.
Teresia Nyevu, a member, says the organisation has really been helpful.
"Our girls sometimes are called in Kaloleni, they are given underpants, soaps and sanitary towels. I thank them because they really support us. It's difficult for a mother to buy such necessities if she is jobless," she said.
Due to poverty, she says, young mothers sometimes opt to buy food rather than sanitary towels or underpants, which makes them easier to be lured by men out there.
Boniface Kalama, a local administrator from the Kayafungo location, said cases of GBV are rampant but they have pushed for perpetrators to be arrested and victims to get justice.