23 Apr 2024

In an effort to help them regain control of their lives, First Lady Ms Neo Masisi has implored adolescent mothers from Charleshill and nearby villages to remain focused and resilient as they re-purpose their lives. 

During her engagement session with teen mothers in Charleshill on Monday, Ms Masisi encouraged them to employ different strategies to find their footing, by joining or starting peer support groups to hand-hold each other through their newfound path of life. 

Motherhood being a complex responsibility for people their age, she said walking the path together as young mothers could help them overcome many of the challenges that riddle their way. 

The First Lady also encouraged them to choose from a bouquet of different economic empowerment programmes availed by government, saying financial empowerment and independence were necessary for them the same way they were for any other citizen. 

Ms Masisi said having fell pregnant under different circumstances, teen mothers should use their pregnancy and motherhood experiences as learning curves from which they drew lessons on the importance of avoiding subsequent unplanned pregnancies. 

She said it was pleasing that young mothers were aware of challenges they faced as well as how those could be solved. 

“I am grateful for the feedback that you shared which shows that you know what challenges you face and which services and programmes you can use to address those problems,” she said after the young mothers presented on several topics relating to them. 

The First Lady thanked parents of the teen mothers for the constant support they gave their children, saying it was an important factor that helped the young mothers to adjust their lives accordingly. 

Ms Goitseone Ngono from the Botswana Police Service (BPS)’s Gender and Child Protection Unit said the police took seriously the challenges faced by young people such as Gender-Based Violence, rape and defilement. She said Gender and Child Protection Unit was formed to give victims of such crimes a safe space from which their cases could be handled. 

She noted further that findings from the BPS had pointed to a number of worrying scenarios, which made addressing challenges afflicting the youth difficult. She cited the tendency by parents and guardians to withdraw cases perpetuated against children.

She urged community members to understand that penal code criminalised acts such as defilement and rape hence they could not withdraw cases willy-nilly. 

Another challenge she said, was the late reporting of defilement cases which often reached police when victims’ pregnancies were quite advanced. 

Ms Ngono attributed sexual abuse of children to incidences of child neglect, saying such made children vulnerable and open to being preyed on in an unprincipled manner. She also cautioned young mothers to be internet-safe and ensure they stayed clear of involvement in cybercrime to avoid the pitfalls that it often came with. 

Like the BPS, Ministry of Health has in the past also recorded concerns of the youth attaching their reluctance to access health services to the absence of safe places in health facilities. 

To address the challenge, Ghanzi-based youth-friendly services focal person Mr Ketlabaisakae Tawana said the ministry had in 2008 established the youth-friendly clinics programme to enhance accessibility of services. 

He said the clinics were tasked with information dissemination on sexual reproductive health, HIV testing and counselling and other associated services. Ends