On Mother’s Day we take the time to thank and celebrate the women who raised us. We show our appreciation and, between the lines, acknowledge how tough (and often undervalued) motherhood can be.
Studies consistently show that poverty and exploitation disproportionately affect girls and young women. In Kenya, just over 20% of teenage girls have the opportunity to attend secondary school. When families are experiencing insecure income or food poverty, out-dated gender-norms and harmful gender discrimination forces many girls and young women out of learning.
It may be seen as ‘traditional’ or the ‘role’ of a girl or young woman to:
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- enter into an early marriage
- stay home to help take care of younger siblings
- drop out due to being unable to afford period products
- find low-paid precarious work to help with the household budget
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Other young women are forced down a darker road. Many find themselves experiencing sexual exploitation, having no choice but to sell sex to survive or being left unprotected from abuse and predation due to no longer having access to safeguarding adults in educational institutions.
Whether through marriage, sexual exploitation or rape, statistics show that 15% of young women aged 15 to 19 in Kenya are pressured into pregnancy and motherhood, while still children themselves. Motherhood only compounds the impact of poverty.
“With no other options for education or work, I turned to sex work. As a street girl, I was harassed and abused by the big boys and I became pregnant. I thought about committing suicide as I felt like this life has no meaning and my child’s life would be even more tragic than mine.” – Anonymous, Seed of Hope student.
At Seed of Hope, we know that young mothers want to learn and we believe they deserve equal opportunities.
We believe it is unacceptable that they should miss out on training or education, the keys to building their own self-reliant futures.
Each young woman, like Mary, has their own unique story when they join. We watch them transform through their time studying at Seed of Hope, learning a vocation that excites them while receiving dedicated support from local people from their communities.
Within 9 months of completing Seed of Hope training:
- over 75% of graduates secure jobs or start businesses
- 70% cover their food, rent and bills independently
- more 80% mentor others, while some create jobs and internships, supporting family and their community
In the face of worrying cutbacks in funding from US and UK governments in recent weeks, in Kenya, young girls and young mothers in particular need our solidarity and support more than ever. To make your tangible difference in the world today, please donate to support young mothers to get the education and support they deserve to build a self-reliant, safe, future for themselves and their children.
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