Teen mums learn skills to break poverty cycle

Some carried infants strapped to their backs with colourful fabric, while others walked in clinging to the hands of toddlers. The only sounds were the occasional cough, the shuffling of feet and the gentle murmuring of youngsters.

Everyone took their seats and waited. They were accustomed to waiting. In the past, they had waited for answers, possibilities and for someone to notice them. On this day, they hoped something good would come out of the wait.

They were teenage girls still in school, unprepared when motherhood came too soon. In Kilifi, teen mothers face heightened risks of domestic violence, economic dependency and poor access to maternal healthcare.

Pregnancy often means dropping out, losing family support and encountering stigma. Some were abandoned or forced into early marriages, left to navigate motherhood alone. But in the meeting room, there was no shame nor judgment.

At the front of the crowd, Claudia Kenga, 30, watched them settle in. She knew their stories before they spoke. She was once a girl who understood what it meant to rely on the kindness of others and to wonder what future was left when life took an unexpected turn.

“My main focus is on teen mothers, connecting with them, reminding them that they matter, and encouraging them to come forward and seek out these opportunities,” she said.

Kenga supports teenage mothers who have been pushed to the margins of society.

She runs a community-based organisation called Pamoja Girls, located in the locality of Ganda. The organisation was formalised in December 2020. With the help of volunteers, it provides a safe space for young mothers to express themselves, share their experiences and access guidance without fear of judgment.

She drew from her own experience of growing up without consistency to create the programme.

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

Experts say initiatives like Pamoja Girls are critical in breaking cycles of poverty and exclusion.

The Kenya Poverty Report 2022 put the overall poverty rate in Kilifi county at 61 per cent. Akoth Victorine, a gender and social development specialist, said the first procedure of designing any form of programme is to bring together young people or the beneficiaries of these teenage pregnancy programmes to understand that getting pregnant as a teenager is a burden.

“Kenga’s approach is simple, but deliberate: meet young women where they are and give them a way to move forward,” she said.

She had long wanted to make a difference. After noticing that Kenga and her siblings had no caretakers, community members took them to a nearby orphanage. For years, she lived on the generosity of benefactors. But she always felt the weight of uncertainty. What would happen when she was old enough to leave?

"People have always helped me. Starting from my education, I was helped by well-wishers,” Kenga said.

“I went through so many challenges throughout my life after the death of my mother in August of 2009. Life in the orphanage was hard, not only for me but for so many other children."

This realisation led her to champion a mission that went beyond aid and promoted real change.

Determined to make a difference, Kenga used the little income she earned from her job at a tours and travel agency in Watamu, Kilifi county, to buy sanitary towels for girls in her village.

“They used to pay me around Sh28,000 a month. I would spare around Sh4,000 so I could buy boxes of sanitary towels to give to the girls.”

In May 2019, she began posting about her efforts on social media, which drew attention from across Africa and North America. Donations started coming in, and as more people offered to support her cause, she realised this could grow into something bigger.

She initially named her initiative Dhahabu, taken from her second name, which means "gold" in Swahili. But as it evolved, she renamed it Pamoja Girls to reflect its goal of solidarity and mutual support.

SELF-RELIANCE

Beyond the safe space, Kenga and her team have visited more than 50 schools to educate young girls about the risks of teenage pregnancy and to advocate for their right to stay in school.

She distributes sanitary towels to ensure that lack of basic needs does not become a barrier to their education.

"Before, we used to reach out to schools on how we can access them. But currently, because they have seen the work we do, they usually request us to go through letters."

Caren Machu, a guidance counselor, volunteers at Pamoja Girls.

“We visited their schools, spoke with many of them and realised that, more than anything, they just needed someone to talk to. That’s where we stepped in.”

With the help of 10 volunteers, Claudia equips teen mothers with practical skills, such as tailoring and computing. These skills help them earn an income and move towards financial independence.

So far, Pamoja Girls has supported more than 10,000 girls in Kilifi and its environs.

For Jackline Pendo, 20, who had her baby at the age of 18 and did not complete high school, the programme changed her perspective.

"It is not easy to support a child when you are a child. The baby needs a lot of things, like clothes and healthcare, and as the only parent, you have to find a way," Pendo said.

“I have learned a lot from just sitting with other teen mums like me. I realised that, just like everyone else, I can train and get a decent job to support my son.”

She plans to register for tailoring and computer skills training.

Experts note that men need to be part of breaking the poverty cycles that teen moms go through.

“These girls are not getting pregnant through diffusion. They must be taught in some quite stringent programs that train men on chivalry and tell them that it is important not to get a young girl pregnant," Victorine said. 

REUNITING FAMILIES

For Kenga, the work does not stop here. She is advocating for family reunification, believing that children grow best in homes, not institutions.

Having lived through the challenges of institutional care, she wants to see more children placed back with families who can support them.

She works with local communities to encourage safe, structured reintegration, proving that there are alternatives to orphanages when the right support systems are in place.

As the session wrapped up, the young mothers gathered their children, exchanged quiet words with one another before heading out.

Their challenges were far from over, but they walked out with more than they came in with: a plan, a connection, a little more hope. And sometimes, that is enough to start something new.