Category Archives: Children

SHOULD PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS BE ALLOWED TO USE CONDOMS?

from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2013

Clare is a second year medical student from Kenya and she writes: “Beste tomorrow is World Aids Day and I just read a shocking report by World Health Organization (WHO) that more than 2 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years are living with HIV, and many do not receive the care and support that they need to stay in good health and prevent transmission.

In addition, millions more adolescents are at risk of infection. The failure to support effective and acceptable HIV services for adolescents has resulted in a 50 percent increase in reported AIDS-related deaths in this group compared with the 30 percent decline seen in the general population from 2005 to 2012.

Here in Kenya religious leaders have opposed a proposal by Family Health Options Kenya that primary school pupils be issued with contraceptives for protection against sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies. The group, which deals with reproductive health, wants contraceptives such as condoms to be introduced in schools to promote safe sex.

Because of its seriousness can religious leaders allow the popular saying in ethics that the end justifies the means to be applied to save the lives of our young generations from dying of Aids?”

No Clare, I don’t think so because the “ends justifying the means” usually involving doing something wrong to achieve a positive end and justifying the wrongdoing by pointing to a good outcome is not the end in itself.

Another might be justifying the abortion to save the student from being discontinued from school. Taking an innocent life is morally wrong even if that was done good intention to help the student pursue her career.

The national chairman of the Inter-Religious Peace Foundation of Kenya, Bishop Joseph Maisha, argued that the introduction of contraceptives to school-going children would fuel teenage sex in the country.

Bishop Maisha argues that the Ten Commandments make it clear that murder, adultery, stealing, lying and greed are unacceptable in God’s eyes and He makes no “escape clause” for motivation or rationalization.

In other words, Bishop Maisha is trying to pass a clear message that only those who do not know God may be forced to justify their means to an end, but those who claim to be children of God have no reason whatsoever to break one of God’s commandments.

This proposal by Family Health Options Kenya comes after the recent Government report which revealed that girls as early as eight years were engaging in active sex and they risk getting infected and becoming pregnant.

Those who lobby for this means to be applied argue that the use of condoms is justified in order to stem the spread of disease and save the lives of young generation.

According to the report, HIV rates in Kenya are much higher for women than for men. This gender differential is particularly pronounced for young women aged 15 to 24 years, who are four times more likely to contract HIV than young men in the same age group.

The HIV prevalence rate for adult women is almost double that for men. This represents a female-to-male ratio of 1.9 to 1.0, the highest in Africa.

Despite the significantly higher prevalence rate among women in Kenya, however, the data also show that more men are sexually active than women. This trend is particularly pronounced for 15 to 19 year girls, 37 percent of which have had sex and carry an HIV prevalence of 2.7 percent, compared with 44 percent of boys who have had sex with a rate of less than one percent.Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.comFacebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

KENYA: A MAASAI WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN HOLD HOSTAGE BY LIONS

A TERRIFIED MAASAI WOMAN WHO LOCKED HERSELF IN THE HOUSE AS THE PRIDE OF SIX LIONS FEASTED ON THE FAMILY BULL

Reports Leo Odera Omolo

A Kenyan Maasai living close to the famous and popular tourist destinarion in Kenya, the Maasai Mara is counting its losses after a pride of six adult lions and their cubs invaded their homestead and killed one fat bull.

The beasts made a break into highly fortified Manyatta home and jumped into the cattle pen,. A young housewife and her young children were asleep when the incident occurred. Her husband was away at the time of the incident leaving the family behind at home, which is located close to the Mara Game Reserve,

The lions imposed a dawn to dusk curfew and held the family hostage for close to ten hours. After accessing the cattle pen. The woman said she was terrified when she opened her door during the day break only to find the six lions and their cubs feasting on the carcase of the family bull they had killed. She quickly locked the door and could not raise the alarm fearing the beasts on hearing any commotion w could be provoked to attack her and her children, The children were still sleeping and It didn’t alert them.

The woman and her children fearing they would be terrified on seeing the lions wondering in the homesteads next to their doorstep. She stay put inside the Manyatta until the neighbors, who sensed that something was wrong in the home, came. The neighbors wondered why the family cattle were still locked inside the pen whle the herds of cattle from the neighboring home were grazing outside They came with crude weapons such as arrows and speakers and chased the lions away . The beasts escaped into the nearby thicket and disappeared in the forest and game reserve. The woman and her family were late rescued by the neighbors. Mrs Christine Nakola 43 year old mother of six children.

The neighbors might have wonders that something is a miss, because there were no human movements in the usually crowded Manyatta, while the family herds of cattle were still locked in their pen.

Ends

By Choice, Not By Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development

From: Yona Maro

All human beings—regardless of age, sex, race or income—are equal in dignity and rights. Yet 222 million women in developing countries are unable to exercise the human right to voluntary family planning.

This flagship report analyzes data and trends to understand who is denied access and why. It examines challenges in expanding access to family planning. And it considers the social and economic impact of family planning as well as the costs and savings of making it available to everyone who needs it.

The report asserts that governments, civil society, health providers and communities have the responsibility to protect the right to family planning for women across the spectrum, including those who are young or unmarried.

Nevertheless, the report finds that financial resources for family planning have declined and contraceptive use has remained mostly steady. In 2010, donor countries fell $500 million short of their expected contribution to sexual and reproductive health services in developing countries. Contraceptive prevalence has increased globally by just 0.1 per cent per year over the last few years.

Link:
http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/swp/2012/EN_SWOP2012_Report.pdf

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EAST AFRICA LAWYERS CALLS FOR THOROUGH ENFORCEMENT OF LAW AGAINST ABUSE OF CHILDREN

To: jaluo jaluo@jaluo.com

By Agwanda Saye

Regional lawyers have called for stringent enforcement of laws towards containing increasing criminal sexual offences against children in East Africa (EA).

The lawyers decried escalating cases of defilement and under age prostitution leading to a growing number of girls below 14 years old in public maternity wards in the region.

LSK Chairman Mr. Eric Mutua said that lack of prosecution of perpetrators and out of court resolution of criminal sexual offences against children aggravates the situation.

“We must strictly implement or draft stringent laws that would protect children from increasing cases of defilement and childhood pregnancies among others,” Mutua said.

The lawyers, magistrates and probation officers are attending a three day conference on Supporting Access to Justice for Children and Youth in East Africa at Enashipai Lodge, Naivasha.

The conference heard that children are increasingly dropping out of school to be used in cross border trade between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Other children have been infected with HIV/Aids following increased cases of childhood prostitution following involvement in fishing trade and mining in Uganda.

Tanganyika Law Society President Mr. Francis Stolla said that courts in East Africa are not strictly implementing existing sexual offences laws to protect children.

“Tanzanian law provides for up to 30 years in prison for criminals found guilty of defilement…Kenya has similar penalties,” Mr. Stolla said.

Ugandan Advocate Mr. Aaron Bessigye said that defilement cases in the country would attract imprisonment for life or death penalty.

“Ugandan law is strict on aggravated rape whereby the offenders infect their victims with HIV/Aids,” Mr. Bessigye said.

The lawyers said that reported cases of FGM are aggravated over lack of successful prosecution of perpetrators despite legal provisions on the same.

“Tanzanian law provides 15 years imprisonment for FGM perpetrators but the culprits are rarely arraigned in court,” Mr. Stolla said.

Mr. Bessigye said that Ugandan law provides 18 years imprisonment for FGM perpetrators but none is yet to be charged despite increased reported cases on the vice.

Magistrates and Probation Officers attending the conference heard that several village leaders were bribed not to report cases of child sexual offences and FGM.

“Sexual offences against children must never be settled out of court towards bringing the criminals to book,” Mutua said.

Ends

KENYA: MIGORI WOMEN REP DECRIES BAD ATTITUDE TOWARDS GIRL CHILD EDUCATION.

By Agwanda Saye

MIGORI County Women Representative Danita Ghati has decried the attitude of some parents within the county who do not support the education of the girl child.

Ghati observed that Migori County is still lagging behind in terms of girl-child education because of lack of support from a number of parents.

She said parents must be ready to fully support the education of the girl-child within the region as this is their responsibility.

The women Representative singled out both Nyatike and Kuria districts where she said education of the girl child is still compromised due to several factors including cultural believes.

Addressing a gathering during the launch of a strategic plan for St. Joseph Alendo Secondary school-cum education day for Kosiemo and Alendo Primary schools in Karungu East of Nyatike Sub-County, Ghati said it is as if some parents are still living in the past where education for boys was given a priority unlike for girls.

She said both boys and girls should be given equal opportunities when it comes to issue of education because since both have same potentials which can make them excel academically.,

The women leader also took up issues with some teachers whom she blamed for contributing to early pregnancies and marriages of school going girls.

Ghati further announced that she will launch several mentorship centers in Migori County to fully support girl-child education.

The women Rep further said she plans to set up an education trust fund which will help in funding the education of bright but need school going girls within Migori County, urging the stakeholders to properly utilize both the UWEZO and CDF Funds, adding that there was still need for bursaries to improve education in the county.

ENDS

Kenya: Would you marry a Single Mom?

From: Maurice Oduor

Why would this even be an issue? Society has changed and we no longer live in the early 1900s so I don’t see why any man would have any hang-up about hooking up with and marrying a single mom. What if women refuse to marry men who are single parents? Then what? If i’m in love with a woman, why would I worry about her being a single mom? Love is blind as far as I’m concerned. I love you, i love everything about you as a package.

I hope this generation does not even see this as an issue worth discussing.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/lifestyle/article/2000094071/would-you-marry-a-single-mother

Would you marry a single mother?
Updated Sunday, September 22nd 2013 at 19:52 GMT +3

By LINDA KEYA

Early this month, Alice Mugwe, 27, was jailed for six years for killing her five-year-old son Peter Mugo by throwing him in a pit latrine at Nyambari Market in Lari on June 26, 2009 to ‘save her marriage’.

When Alice met a man she loved, she left her young son from a previous relationship with her mother and moved in with her beau — without telling him that she had a child. But when the little secret was discovered, the marriage floundered. And down the pit latrine young Peter went.

It seems single mothers, especially those with boys, carry a warning sign on their foreheads reading ‘marry at your own the risk’ — at least if men are to be believed.

Most men feel getting ‘ready-made’ children is not only hectic, but also unwise although if they had to choose, they would rather settle down with a woman with two or even three daughters, but never a son. Maybe this explains why there are many street boys as compared to girls, but that is a story for another day.

The only constant factor is that a true African man will not find it ok for a woman to come with male children. They would never raise other men’s sons mostly because of land and inheritance issues.

It is about pride. A man wants to chest thump and boast “hii ni ndume yangu (that’s my boy)”. But how would he brag if the son didn’t spring from his loins? Even worse is the notion that out there lives another man who brags that his ndume (bull or son) is being raised by another man.

But there is more to it. Boys, at least among the people of western Kenya, allegedly come to the homestead with a granary of misfortunes.

“Mtoto wa nje, haswa kijana, humaliza boma yako kabisa. Ananyang’anya vijana wako bahati yote (stepsons destroy your home because they take all the luck from your biological sons),” says Mzee Robert Okwisia.

The old man adds that such boys always tend to excel academically, get good jobs, marry ‘organised’ women and have successful families unlike a man’s biological children. Worse, he says, such boys eventually leave in search of their biological fathers, leaving the men who raised them high and dry, unlike stepdaughters who bring wealth to the home.

“Cases of men strangling their young stepsons early in the marriage, so that they can start on a clean slate are, therefore, not uncommon. Also when you live with a woman who has another man’s son, that man can come and take her away any time. We have seen these things,” says the retired teacher.

Stepfathers

Elders also whisper that a stepson is likely to bring to the family manners and characteristics that are different, like night running, and be a nuisance and a threat to the surrogate father’s daughters.

Most of the men Crazy Monday talked to concurred that culture and traditions play a major role. They preferred girls because they kind of believe girls come with fewer stresses — no expensive rituals like circumcision and boys’ huts, and are instead, a source of wealth as they bring dowry to the home and tend to be very close to their stepfathers.

“The only expense is to feed them well, buy them goodies when they sulk and give them a good education,” says James Wekesa a software engineer.

Boys, on the other hand, will have their eyes set on your estate and even that of the clan, basically wanting to rule their step-fathers’ kingdom, something most men wouldn’t stand from someone with foreign genes.

“A ‘stranger’ boy is like a treasury bill — it is a claim on your fortune as a man. But a girl is never ‘foreign genes’. She is like a grant from overseas. Free credit. If a single mum has a boy and wants to get married in the larger Africa, I suggest she hands over the boy to his biological father or leave him with her relatives. I would happily take care of my sister’s boys, but not a son with different genes from my own,” says Wekesa.

Aside from that, a lot about bringing up a boy from a different father boils down to perceived control. Men want their women and brood to be under their control. But controlling and disciplining a man who is unrelated and knows you are not his father is difficult and almost certainly, will lead to rivalry and conflict. Even worse, that son makes it difficult for a man to control his own wife, men say.

The son looks at his stepfather as a stranger who wants to control his mother, while the man, on the other hand, looks at the son as a stranger interfering with his wife. Striking a balance can be a hard task when you, in real sense, cannot please them both.

This will most split the woman’s loyalty between the two males of different blood. At the end of the day, the son may win by virtue of being her blood relative, which makes the chances the marriage failing quite high.

“Single women with sons have to choose between a lover or their sons, with many sacrificing their own love lives for their sons, This narrows or even blocks their chances of having a marriage,” says lawyer S Kibira.

The only other way, says Kibira, is to either let biological fathers or maternal grandfathers bring up children borne out of wedlock.

In Luhya land for instance, ancestral land belongs to the clan, it is inherited. Therefore, the family land cannot be subdivided to a stranger — he needs to go back to his own clan and get his share. In fact, cases abound of grown men, some with families, who troop back to their biological fathers for a share of the land after getting raised by maternal uncles and grandparents.

Secondly, men and their children cannot be parted.

“Men follow a former girlfriend to where she is married to bring back their sons. If that is not the case, when a man reaches a certain age, he starts snooping around looking for his bloodline and a place to build his simba. You can’t control him,” says Mzee Oluoch Madiang.

Neighbours won’t make matters any better. They gossip about it and even lead the boys to their biological parents without the adopted father’s knowledge.

“Who wants such stress or to be nagged to the bar, or even to the grave in search of another man’s real father? It’s just best to keep off these women with boys for sanity’s sake,” poses a man who sought anonymity.

Baggage

But some single mothers have been lucky to be taken in with even three sons. To them, these are none issues. If a man wants her, then he needs to take her with her baggage or bugger off.

“The first thing I do when I meet a man is to tell him that I have a nine-year-old son who is part of my life. If we are to become an item, I make it clear we will be three in the relationship and if he doesn’t like it, he can as well take a walk,” says Nduku, a 33-year-old nurse.

Small comfort for Jane Frieda Achieng’, a mother of two boys: “ A man told me to my face that he loved me but would only look for me when my sons were done with school and were out of my house.”

It is a safe bet that neither Achieng’ nor Nduku will be walking down the isle any time soon.

The Third Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-III) will be held in Addis Ababa from 21 – 23 October, 2013

From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)

Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology supports transformative development

The Third Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-III) will be held in Addis Ababa from 21 – 23 October, 2013

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 17, 2013/ — The need for strong weather and climate services to reduce vulnerability and promote sustainable development will be addressed by the Third Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-III) (http://www.climdev-africa.org/ccda3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 21 – 23 October, 2013.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/amcomet.jpg

Organized by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), under the auspices of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme, the conference’s theme is Africa on the rise: can the opportunities from climate change spring the continent to transformative development?

The African Union and the World Meteorological Organization will co-host a side event that will identify current gaps and future needs in the provision of weather and climate services. It will also discuss a range of potential solutions through the implementation of the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), that can positively impact the lives and livelihoods of African communities.

The side event will further discuss the need for African political leadership and cooperation to strengthen and mainstream weather and climate services into the decision-making and development planning process in key sectors such as agriculture, water resources and transport.

The African continent’s weak adaptive capacity increases its exposure to climate change and limits its ability to benefit from advances in climate science. Many National Meteorological and Hydrological Services have limited resources.

The African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) (http://www.wmo.int/amcomet) provides political support to strengthen national meteorological services to enable them to perform their mandate and thus contribute to transformative development in Africa.

The Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology developed under AMCOMET and endorsed by the African Union, positions weather and climate services as essential components in poverty alleviation, disaster risk management and sustainable development efforts. The Strategy is a key component in the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Service (GFCS) (http://gfcs-climate.org) in Africa to increase the provision of user-driven climate services, especially in the priority areas of food security, water management, disaster risk reduction and health.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET).

MEDIA contact: Josiane Uwantege/ JUwantege@wmo.int or phone: +41 78 664 41 82

Notes to Editors: WMO Assistant Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova, will chair the side event. Panelists include representatives from the African Union Commission, African Development Bank, and ACPC. Hon Saviour Kasukuwere MP, Zimbabwe Minister of Environment, Water and Climate is expected to give the welcome remarks. Give date, venue, time of side event

Background:

AMCOMET: The African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) (http://www.wmo.int/amcomet) was initiated in response to major challenges related to the delivery of weather and climate services in Africa. It is a permanent forum where African ministers in charge of meteorology convene every two years to provide political leadership and policy direction and advocacy in matters related to the development of meteorology and its applications, as well as its contribution to socio-economic development in Africa. AMCOMET was established in April 2010 during the First Conference of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology in Africa.

For more information, visit:

• http://www.wmo.int/amcomet
• http://africaclimateconference.org
• http://www.wmo.int
• http://www.gfcs-climate.org

SOURCE
African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET)

Kenya: Very distrurbing information from a newspaper

From: Judy Miriga

Paul,

I respect you. You are a good man. Like our ancestors you are educative, caring and informative. You spend your most valuable time to reach out a larger Kenyan community to save a situation because of the commandment of love.

Our loving God will surely reward you more in abudantly………..Keep the good work of blogging for purposes of sharing and we shall all reap the rewards of the seeds of Love when time is ripe……………The day of reckoning is nigh when God will decree the fates of all men according to the good and evil of their hearts and earthly lives………….

I am proud of you……………….

Cheers !!!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 12:52 PM, paul nyandoto wrote:

Nyamogo & Maurice

It looks that all what account146w writes is placed on my neck now. Are you guys insane?.

I can see that Maurice has gossiped around and got all about me and he is now out to tell people all about me. He started with my white wife and now my schoolings. I tell you Nyamogo that today it is my turn tomorrow it may be you. If I were you I would be worried about your clients if Maurice knows you well. Because he has caused you already and still causing you to lose a lot and lots of clients through his gossips. Be careful.

But did Maurice forget to tell you that I was just an ordinary luo boy who attended Sawagongo high school and in our year in that poor school by then, we were only 3 pupils who managed to get 3 principles in sciences ( mine were in Maths, Chemistry , Biology and 2 subsidiaries). Went to st. Petersburg first medical university named after the great scientist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov ( who lived 1849-1936): I was possessed with nuclear medicine already by then. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov made the first physiological experiment now known all over the world in the same laboratory I sat in during my education time. The university is now known as the St. Petersburg medical academy. In the same university I developed more interest in Radiation, nuclear and medical oncology.

Well Maurice is right my wife is white and she was my medical school classmate. She is also a medical doctor graduated with honors( may be Maurice has researched about that too but has not told you). In Finland i joined Helsinki University and did my specialization in Radiation , nuclear and medical oncology. Did Maurice tell you that I met president Moi face to face and you can call Moi to confirm that too. In the 1990s i drafted for Kenya almost the same medical structure & care as Finland to help in health care. This was given to the director of medical services called Meme. What he did with them hell knows.

Has Maurice told you that i was also the first Kenyan to put 2 scientific research work in the red journal. A record very rare in Africa , Even among south african whites, even in europe here. May be now there are a lot but I ventured into that when a lot were still sleeping.

I think Maurice has forgotten to tell you that I was the first foreign born doctor( white, green, red, asian, black, yellow etc) in Finland to win the best Oncology year award given after every 2 years in Finland by the Finnish cancer foundation to the best performing doctor in the land. All who had that before me were only finnish nationals. That was in the year 2008. By the way i have spent all the money I got, so do not beg me for that either. If I live longer I may surprise you one day with a nobel prize; or my kids will do it. So just wish us well.

Well I have 3 very bright kids. Their academic performance have surpassed me and my wife by far. So what else have i left out which Maurice is still having in store to tell the forum?. Well I speak and write luo, Russian, Finnish, very well and in our house we speak luo and Finnish mostly. Other languages we have around here and there is English, swedish,swahili we speak very rare, but practice it always towards our holiday journey to Kenya every time. By the way I am a jaluo from suba land. A very happy luo man. Maurice you can keep on gossiping and googling to find more and tell the forum. But I warn the forum that tell Maurice something at your own risk. The day you turn your back every body will know them including your medical records.

I have also a negative side and that is:

I hate people who can not feed their children and those who refuse to take jobs because the government will tax them for child support. I still believe in old tradition, that a good father should play his role well to kids, failure to do that you can not enjoy my kingdom. No matter how good you speak english. People do not eat english here where I live. So forgive me for my bad english grammar and I do not need any monkey gossiper on my back to tell people who I am..

Paul

School food, politics, and child health

From: Yona Maro

This paper reflects on how understanding of school feeding has changed since the 2009 analysis conducted by the UN World Food Programme, The Partnership for Child Development and the World Bank, which was published as Rethinking School Feeding. Data on school feeding programme outcomes were collected through a literature review. Regression models were used to analyse relationships between school feeding costs (from data that were collected), the per capita costs of primary education and Gross Domestic Product per capita. Data on the transition to national ownership, supply chains and country examples were collected through country case studies.

The authors found that school feeding programmes increase school attendance, cognition and educational achievement, as well as provide a transfer of resources to households with possible benefits to local agricultural production and local market development. Low-income countries exhibit large variations in school feeding costs, with concomitant opportunities for cost containment. Countries are increasingly looking to transition from externally supported projects to national programmes. With a global turnover in excess of $US 100 billion, the authors sustain that school feeding should remain a focus of study with a view to helping countries ensure that their programmes are as cost-effective as possible.

Link:
http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Documents/School%20food,%20politics,%20and%20child%20health.pdf

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African Economic Conference 2013: African leaders, top scholars look at regional integration as key to Africa’s continuing growth and development

From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)
MEDIA ADVISORY

The eighth African Economic Conference will take place in South Africa from October 28-30, 2013

TUNIS, Tunisia, September 27, 2013/ — The eighth African Economic Conference (http://www.afdb.org/en/aec) will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from October 28-30, 2013 under the theme “Regional Integration in Africa”. The conference is organized each year by the African Development Bank (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Logo AfDB: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-development-bank-2.png

This year’s African Economic Conference will bring together top policy-makers, heads of state, leading researchers and experienced development practitioners from Africa and around the world to discuss issues arising from African countries’ efforts to pool resources and integrate their economies for the development of their regional and individual economies. The conference will examine the efforts being made in different sectors and areas, including finance, road transport, power pools, water resource management, fiscal convergence and labour mobility. Discussions will focus on issues specific to middle-income countries and those peculiar to fragile states. The 2013 AEC will also be discussing the constraints effective integration faces – the poorly developed network of regional infrastructure, especially in transport, energy and communications, and the unsuitable array of legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks, all of which cannot be ignored. Finally, delegates will look into solutions to facilitate regional integration.

The AEC will also provide a unique forum for in-depth presentations of policy-oriented research by both established academics and emerging talents from the continent. The conference will be opened by Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP; Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; and Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary of ECA.

Registration is now open. Registration will be essential for entry, please register online http://www.afdb.org/en/aec/online-registration/ before Tuesday, 15 October 2013.*

What:

8th African Economic Conference

When:

Monday, October 28 – Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Where:

Montecasino Entertainment Complex, Johannesburg, South Africa

Who:

Opening: Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa

Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP

Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank

Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary, ECA

For media information, please contact:

AfDB: Olivia Ndong Obiang, o.ndong-obiang@afdb.org, tel. +216 95 99 97 70

ECA: Mercy Wambui, mwambui@uneca.org, tel. +251 92 10 14 767

UNDP: Nicolas Douillet, nicolas.douillet@undp.org, tel. +1 212 906 5937

2013 African Economic Conference website: http://www.afdb.org/en/aec/

* Due to the limited space available, no late registrations will be allowed. Once the maximum media delegate participation has been reached, registration will be closed.

For any queries on registrations, please contact:

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Ms. Lynette Mwaikinda
African Development Bank
Tel +216 71 10 18 20
E-mail : aec@afdb.org

AEC EVENT ORGANISERS

Ntokozo Ndlovu
Stoned Pebble Consulting – Events
Tel: + 27 (0) 11 791 0231
Mobile: + 27 (0) 72 017 8396
Email: ntokozo@stonedpebble.co.za

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

SOURCE
African Development Bank (AfDB)

http://www.afdb.org/

http://www.afdb.org/en/aec/

http://www.afdb.org/en/aec/online-registration/

WORLD CONTRACEPTION DAY MARKED AS YOUNG GIRLS IN KENYA ABUSE E-PILLS

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Tomorrow is World Contraception Day, an annual event taking place on September 26 every year. Countries and regions around the world organize events to mark the day and to demonstrate their commitment to raising awareness of contraception and improving education regarding reproductive and sexual health.

The day is being marked when in Kenya the rising sales of emergency contraceptives commonly known as “morning-after pills” is worrying experts, following growing abuse by Kenya’s sexually active youth.

It is worrying that e-pills are being abused by many youth and underage girls. These pills are sold openly to young girls, including students by private chemists all over Kenya. Just as sex sells, so do the pills.

The drugs are supposed to be used twice per year but the girls take them almost every weekend without considering their side effects. This is because the pharmacists sell these drugs to these vulnerable young girls without doctor’s prescription. These pills are cheap and available. A packet sells for Sh150.

In a radio advertisement at the centre of a controversy in Kenya, a distraught teenage girl asks for help after having unprotected sex. “What shall I do? I’m still in college. What happens to my future, my friends, my family, my life?” she sobs.

Such advertisements have contributed a lot for the use of these pills among teenage girls. Some parents even encourage their girls to use them if they cannot overcome their sexual urges for intercourse.

Many young people are now using the e-pill routinely, some even buying the pills in advance in any case the boy friend insists on sex. College and university girls are using these pills irresponsibly.

Besides side-effects, like nausea, heavy bleeding and cramps, regular use of the emergency contraception may cause infertility and in some instances increase the risk of cancer, still this has not stopped these noble girls from using the pills.

The message these youth are getting is that what matters is that you go out and have fun because you won’t get pregnant. They don’t care about the side effect. The adverts are being sponsored by the US non-governmental organisation funding the campaign – Populations Services International in Kenya.

Besides that, frequent use of the e-pills affects your ovulation cycle and interferes with your fertility cycle. Yet taking the e-pill only solves a quarter of the problem, which is pregnancy, but leaves you susceptible to a myriad of serious STIs.

Furthermore, frequent consumption of the e-pill increases your chances of having an ectopic pregnancy. Again, since e-pills are used to prevent pregnancy within 120 hours of intercourse, girls who use them any time they have sex are at risk of terrible side effects.

E-pills are not supposed to be used as a regular birth control method due to their high hormonal content. Some of the most popular e-pills sold in Kenya are Postinor2, Pregno, Smart lady, Truston2 and Ecee2. Apart from nausea and dizziness, other side effects include vomiting and abdominal pain.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

Toxic Toil: Child Labor and Mercury Exposure in Tanzania’s Small-Scale Gold Mines

From: Abdalah Hamis

Article by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala, DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 28 (Reuters) – The Tanzanian government said it was committed to stamping out child labour in small-scale gold mines after a U.S. rights group said thousands of minors were at risk from working in dangerous conditions.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said children as young as eight years old were working in small mines in Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer.

They are at risk of injury from pit collapses and accidents with tools as well as of long-term health damage from exposure to mercury, breathing dust and carrying heavy loads, it said.

“Child labour is a serious problem in small-scale mines,” Tanzania’s deputy energy and minerals minister, Stephen Masele, told Reuters on Wednesday, the same day the report was published.

“More advocacy is needed to ensure parents understand the importance of education for their children,” he
said. “We have been carrying out frequent surprise inspections at mines to crack down on this problem.”

There are more than 800,000 miners working in small-scale gold operations in Tanzania, thousands of whom are children, the rights group said.

“They dig and drill in deep, unstable pits, work underground for shifts of up to 24 hours, and transport and crush heavy bags of gold ore,” said the report titled, “Toxic Toil: Child Labour and Mercury Exposure in Tanzania’s Small-Scale Gold Mines.”

The government has pledged to end the practice, but Human Rights Watch said it was not doing enough.

“On paper, Tanzania has strong laws prohibiting child labour in mining, but the government has done far too little to enforce them,” said Janine Morna, a researcher at the rights group.

“Labour inspectors need to visit both licensed and unlicensed mines regularly and ensure employers face sanctions for using child labour,” she said.

The group said girls who work on or near mining sites sometimes become victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. (Editing by Edmund Blair and Jane Baird)

via Trust.org

Source: http://www.wavuti.com/4/post/2013/08/tanzania-government-pledges-to-end-child-labor-in-gold-mining.html#ixzz2dLMP3cpV

On Wednesday, August 28, 2013 3:58:23 PM UTC+3, Abdalah Hamis wrote

Children as young as eight-years-old are working in Tanzanian small-scale gold mines, with grave risks to their health and even their lives, Human Rights Watch said in a reportreleased today. The Tanzanian government should curb child labor in small-scale mining, including at informal, unlicensed mines, and the World Bank and donor countries should support these efforts.

The 96-page report, “Toxic Toil: Child Labor and Mercury Exposure in Tanzania’s Small-Scale Gold Mines,”describes how thousandsof children work in licensed and unlicensed small-scale gold mines inTanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer. They dig and drill in deep, unstable pits, work underground for shifts of up to 24 hours, and transport and crush heavy bags of gold ore. Children risk injury from pit collapses and accidents with tools, as well as long-term health damage from exposure to mercury, breathing dust, and carrying heavy loads. A 17-year-old boy who survived a pit accident told Human Rights Watch, “I thought I was dead, I was so frightened.”

“Tanzanian boys and girls are lured to the gold mines in the hopes of a better life, but find themselves stuck in a dead-end cycle of danger and despair,” said Janine Morna, children’s rights research fellow at Human Rights Watch. “Tanzania and donors need to get these children out of the mines and into school or vocational training.”

Many children who work in mining are orphans or other vulnerable children who lack basic necessities and support. Human Rights Watch also found that girls on and around mining sites face sexual harassment, including pressure to engage in sex work. Some girls become victims of commercial sexual exploitation and risk contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted infections.

Human Rights Watch visited 11 mining sites in Geita, Shinyanga, and Mbeya regions, and interviewed more than 200 people, including 61 children working in small-scale gold mining. The employment of children in dangerous mining work is one of the worst forms of child labor under international agreements, to which Tanzania is a party.

“On paper, Tanzania has strong laws prohibiting child labor in mining, but the government has done far too little to enforce them,” Morna said. “Labor inspectors need to visit both licensed and unlicensed mines regularly, and ensure employers face sanctions for using child labor.”

Child laborers, as well as children living near mining sites, are at serious risk of mercury poisoning. Mercury attacks the central nervous system and can cause lifelong disability to children, whose developing bodies are more easily affected by the heavy metal. The miners, including children, mix mercury with crushed ground ore and burn the resulting gold-mercury amalgam to release the gold, exposing them to poisonous mercury fumes. Even small children who are not working are often present during this process, which is sometimes carried out in the home.

Most adult and child miners are unaware of these health risks. Health workers lack training and facilities and are not equipped to diagnose or treat mercury poisoning. Existing laws and initiatives on mercury have largely failed to reduce mercury use.

Tanzania has helped craft a new global treaty to reduce mercury exposure worldwide, which more than 140 governments agreed upon in January 2013. The Minamata Convention on Mercury, named for the site in Japan of a mercury poisoning disaster half a century ago, will be adopted in October near Minamata.

“Tanzania helped bring about the Minamata Convention on Mercury,” Morna said. “Now, to protect the future of its own people and of its own growing mining industry, it needs to take the lead to protect its children – by monitoring, testing, and treating them for mercury exposure and getting them out of the mines.”

Working in the mines interferes with children’s education. Children working in mining sometimes skip classes or drop out of school altogether. Teachers told Human Rights Watch that school attendance and performance decreased when a gold mine opened nearby. In addition, many adolescents seek full-time employment, including in mining, because they lack access to secondary school or vocational training.

A 15-year-old boy in the Geita district summed up the impact of mining on his life: “It is difficult to combine mining and school. I don’t get time to go through tutoring [which takes place on the weekends]. I wonder about the mine, it distracts me…. One day … I fell sick [after mining and missed classes]. I had pain all over my body.”

The Tanzanian government should expand access to secondary school and vocational training and improve child protection, Human Rights Watch said. The government and donors should provide financial and political backing for the new action plan on the most vulnerable children and include orphans from mining areas in the Tanzania Social Action Fund’s program of grants and conditional cash transfers to vulnerable populations.

The World Bank and other donors to the mining sector should also support steps to end child labor in mining and reduce the exposure of children and adults to mercury, Human Rights Watch said. For example, they should help children transition from work in unlicensed mines to schooling, and ensure that newly licensed mines do not use child labor. A current US$55 million World Bank project to support the mining sector does not directly address child labor.

The gold industry has a responsibility to ensure it does not benefit directly or indirectly from unlawful child labor, Human Rights Watch said. Yet most gold traders Human Rights Watch interviewed in Tanzania had no procedures to keep gold mined by children out of their supply chains.

Small traders typically purchase gold directly at the mines or in mining towns and then sell it to larger traders in Tanzania. Sometimes the gold passes through several intermediaries before reaching the traders who export the gold. According to the Tanzanian government, small-scale miners produced about 1.6 tons of gold in 2012 – worth about US$85 million.

The top destination for gold from Tanzanian small-scale mines is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Gold is also exported to Switzerland, South Africa, China, and the United Kingdom.

“Whether small or large, Tanzanian or global, businesses should avoid becoming entangled with unlawful child labor in their supply chain,” Morna said. “As those with the buying power, gold traders have leverage over their suppliers. They should use it to protect children and to protect consumers from buying gold tainted by child labor.”

UNDERAGE ABORTION AND COMMERCIAL SEX WORKERS TRADE IN KENYA

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013

Winnie from Nanyuki, Kenya writes: “Dear Editor, I read with keen interest your News Dispatch on how our young girls procure abortion at a high rate. This is shocking as a parent. I also read about the bad use of phones and internet.

I have just been reading today’s Standard (yesterday) how crooked doctors mint money from young girls who go for abortion and how commercial sex workers among minors is alarming in Kenya. I fail to understand why all these do happen and we are just watching”.

Fr Boniface Silayo from Kakamega, Kenya writes: “Dear Fr. Omolo thanks for the articles particularly those about the use of cell phone, internet cyber café as a source of entertainment instead of being means of communication and enrichment of knowledge. This behaviour is leading to many youths into a dangerous disease of addiction, psycho-neurosis similar to drug addicts, alcoholism, depression etc. It is important to recall the moral fabrics to these youths before it is too late.

It is also important to provide enough recreation facilities to the youth and even adult people living in towns. The social fabrics that existent sometimes back in our traditional African setting is rapidly dying away and many people are entering to solitude life without values. Please treat this apostolate with the all the Christian and African means of rebuilding values to the young generations and the cities dwellers who are so much exposed lonely lives”.

Sentiments of Winnie and Fr Silayo are the same to many of our readers. This topic has also been the centre of Fcebook debate since I posted it to my time line. It demonstrates how our society is concerned about our beloved young ones.

Winnie is referring to yesterday story on Standard Newspaper where nineteen-year-old Victoria reenacted how a ‘doctor’ at a clinic in Huruma pumped out blood from her womb using some straw-like plastic. She was 17 then.

Victoria didn’t even know she was pregnant until she started falling sick. She shared with a friend, and she said we need to check out and get rid of it, fast. They went to a local ‘doctor’ at the backroom of a two-roomed, plywood partitioned clinic asked her not to scream. The pain was unbearable. Then the bleeding was unstoppable.

After a few months, she was pregnant again, but unlike the first time when she was asked to pay Sh2,000, she was asked for Sh5,000. Many young girls like Victoria flock such backstreet clinics because it is shameful to be with pregnancy.

Some parents are the first to take their children in such deadly and risk clinics. Some deaths have been reported because some of these clinical officers are not qualified to perform abortion.

For Victoria abortion was the only option because when her parents realized she was pregnant they would disown her- And for parents who encourage their girls to abort do so because of shame or because they wanted them to continue with their school.

But women like Victoria rarely learn from mistakes. After her second abortion, Victorial joined a local high school and settled down for her studies. But soon she met a garbage collector who would smile at her everyday, then started buying her chips and giving her bus fare. After a while, she was “in love”. She fell pregnant for the third time. She was in Form Four. She went ahead and sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams last year while pregnant.

At eight months, she decided get rid of it. She paid Sh6,000 to another ‘doctor’ who told her that it was a small matter. This time, the doctor injected her hand and then used a tool that look like a crochet needle.

Winnie also raised a concern on commercial sex workers of underage girls taking place nearby towns of Mai Mahiu and Gilgil where the crisis is coupled with a recent increase in cases of defilement with majority of the minors affected belonging to the sex workers.

With a prevalence of 7.1 percent, the trading center emerged the top with the high number of truck drivers and commercial sex workers attributed to the number. The increase in cases of defilement in the area is recording between 3-5 cases per week. Mai Mahiu, Kihoto and Karagita estates are some of most affected areas with parental negligence blamed for the increase.

A survey conducted by Kenya’s national statistics bureau suggests 10,000 to 30,000 children under 18 are involved in commercial sex, according to Grace Banya, chief technical advisor for the International Labour Organization, which works towards eliminating child labour.

“What is terrifying is that some of the children involved in commercial sex are as little as 10 years old yet this is the worst form of child labour,” Banya told the Standard.

Part of the reason for involving in sex worker is due to Government’s failure to stem unemployment, which now stands at 70 per cent. Many parents can’t afford taking their children to school due to lack of employment. Many of these underage girls sex workers are school dropouts in class 8-their parents can’t take them to secondary schools or any course.

Kenya’s National Aids Control Council estimates there are more than 7,000 commercial sex workers in Nairobi alone while more are spread in main economic hubs of Kisumu, Eldoret and Mombasa as well as border towns of Busia and Malaba.

Approximately 7,000 sex workers operate in Nairobi per night with each having an average of 3-4 clients, which translates to between 21,000 and 28,000 sexual activities a night.

In Kisii township underage commercial sex workers is located at Kisii old bus stage, stretches downwards to the junction that connects to Kisii’s capital round about. This area is active from as early as 7pm, with skimpily dressed ladies some young enough to be in late primary or high school.

The street is lined up with parked trailers and trucks until the wee hours of the morning. These girls flock to truck drivers and turn boys who give them food and money after the service.

Around the area the lodging landlords are making a killing from the trade due to the unique way the workers ‘sell their goods’. As the night progresses the sex workers will be fairly distributed across the town CBD with higher concentration around major night spots and drinking dens selling cheap liquor. This scenario is more compounded on weekends starting Friday through Sunday, game nights and holiday seasons.

Apart from local sex workers, at least 50 girls, aged between ten and 15, are sold every week to tour operators and tourist hotels at Sh60,000 each as sex workers and to star in pornographic movies according to recent report released on Tuesday by the International Peace Institute (IPI) which says that the girls are trafficked or smuggled to Nairobi from North Eastern Province and Somalia.

The report says the girls are taken to massage parlours or beauty shops, where contacts from tour operators and hotels come to select the ones they wish to take as sex workers. Tour operators and hotel workers also operate as traffickers and brokers.

The report says the trafficked children are then taken to scheduled villas in Mombasa where sex tourism thrives. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has estimated that about 10,000 people are trafficked into Coast Province each year.

Mombasa is a destination for people trafficked from as far as Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The report claims that most traffickers are Somalis and those who head and control the network are known as makhalis.

In Nairobi and Garissa, the report claims that some traffickers operate as travel agents for airlines. They pay taxes for their legitimate businesses to ensure that they do not attract queries from Government authorities. There are at least five to ten makhalis in northern Kenya and in Eastleigh in Nairobi.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

BISHOP OBALLA’S MESSAGE TO THE YOUTH ON MORAL VALUES

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013

Bishop John Oballa Owaa of Ngong Catholic Diocese yesterday told youth to keep to moral values and self-discipline. He said if youth are not careful they can be mislead by mass media, especially mobile phones which is easily accessible to children.

Bishop Obala said this during his homily at St Thomas Catholic Church, Magadi Soda, Kajiado County. He came to confer the sacrament of confirmation to about 71 confirmands.

Moral values and self-discipline he said are slowly diminishing over the years, as most of the younger generation are gradually disregarding these ethics. People who do not have base values he said are not even able to feel good about doing something right, that explains why the statistics of abortion among teenagers in Kenya is worrying.

Since children and adolescents are constantly watching those around them, especially the adults who are most present and significant in their lives, bishop Oballa said it is, therefore, extremely important for parents to model the kind of actions they want youth to engage in.

Because children observe and imitate the behavior of adults, adults must be sure to demonstrate consistently appropriate behavior at all times. Parents should guide their children how to get rid of negative media which can ruin their moral values, especially pornography.

Because generations of young people today have grown up with computers, the internet, email, chat rooms, social media, cell phones, etc, children are encountering pornography at younger ages and more teens are becoming addicted to it.

The average age when a child first encounters hard-core pornography today is 11. Their use of the internet, email, texting, social media websites, video games, and chat rooms make them more vulnerable to exposure to pornography and to sexual predators.

Exposure to pornography can affect a child’s psychosexual and spiritual development. This is because they are introduced to a world they are unable to understand. That is why for example, for boys the message is that “girls are to be used for men’s sexual pleasure.

When it comes to abortion, young girls in Kenya were more afraid of carrying a pregnancy to term than contracting sexually transmitted infections like HIV/Aids. They with pregnancy, most people disown you including parents and it is seen as shameful.

The main determining factor for termination of pregnancy amongst these women appeared to be the fact that it was unwanted and/or unplanned, either because of inappropriate timing, the type of man responsible, the relationship itself and the social and economic implications thereof.

As a result, at least 2,600 Kenyan women die in public hospitals each year after having botched backstreet abortions. Many more die at home without seeking medical care. This is despite the fact that Kenya is a deeply religious Christian country where the church is vocal in its condemnation of abortion.

Basing his homily on the first reading from Isaiah 66:18-21: “They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord”, the bishop said we must co-exist as one family of God. He said we should not allow politicians to divide Kenyans along tribal lines.

“It did not matter whether you are a Luo, Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Kisii, Kamba, etc, what matters is that we are Kenyans, and above all children of God”, bishop said amid cheers from the crowd.

And on the second reading from Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13, the bishop said that as Christians we should endure trials. He said nothing should separate us from God, whether hunger, poverty, unemployment, etc.

“God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed”.

On the Gospel taken from Luke 13:22-30 -the bishop said since salvation is a process, no one can claim that he/she is saved. Giving the reason why God created us, “to know him, serve and live with him for ever in eternal life”, the bishop said we must works hard towards our salvation.

“Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’

Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

KENYA: KISUMU PARENTS MOVED TO COURT OVER THEIR DAUGHTERS EXPULSION FROM JOEL OMINO SECONDARY SCHOOL UNDER THE GUISE OF BEING DEVIL WORSHIPERS.

By Our Investigative Reporter

A couple whose form two daughter has been expelled at Joel Omino Secondary School which is within Kisumu East District within Kisumu County ostensibly under the recommendation of the school’s Principal’s James Aggrey Otieno wife who teaches in the same school have moved to court to compel the school to re-admit their daughter school and produce evidence in court proving that the said student (name withheld) is a devil worshipper.

Narrating the incident to “Citizen Weekly” the girls’ parents Carren Adwenya and Paul Odoyo Agutu said that the secured admission for their daughter on 8th May 2013.

Documents within our possession shows that the school was paid ksh 10,000 on 15th May 2013 with balance of kshs 14,150 to be paid on admission after an admission letter was issued on 8th May 2013 .

“We discussed with the school Principal before admission reasons why we were changing for our daughter school as she used to previously school at Asumbi Girls and the Principal advised us that since the girl could not fit in a boarding school the best was for her to be in a day school” the girl’s mother said.

The parents say that on 17th may 2013 they received a call from a Mrs Otieno who introduced herself as the teacher in charge of counseling at Joel Omino who further said that she was counseling their daughter but the daughter refused to open up.

“At that point I asked her to talk with my daughter upon whom she said that the teacher was forcing her to admit what was not true and when I spoke with the teacher she told me to go and see her in school” said Mrs Adwenya.

When they went to Joel Omino the said teacher said that she had given their daughter an opportunity to write her life history before arriving at Joel Omino Secondary School but she failed to write that she was a devil worshipper.

We got agitated and all our efforts to explain to her that our daughter is a social and kind person who is always outgoing could not bear fruit.

“Upon realizing that she was adamant and arrogant ,the father excused himself as going to the bank and I the mother remained in school , I insisted that the allegation was not fair and I insisted that my daughter to giver her version of the whole issue” the mother further said.

Her daughter said that the said Mrs.Otieno had harassed her on 8th /06/2013 before her fellow Form two class and told her that she was in Joel Omino Illegally as the said teacher is the one who determines who iks to be admitted at Joel Omino.

“Mrs.Otieno had wanted my daughter to confess that she was a devil worshipper who had gone to recruit students at Joel Omino for her cult after doing the same at Asumbi Girls where she was before “she added.

The mother says that her daughter was officially released from Asumbi Girls to pursue further treatment on tonsillitis which she had.

The mother says that all that never augur well with her (Mrs.Otieno) as she claimed that we parents were siding with girl and she advised her daughter to ignore the allegations and concentrate on her studies and she further advised that the said Mrs.Otieno to stop counseling her daughter but the teacher insisted that she was going to continue.

“All was well not until 30th May 2013 when I got communication through an sms that my daughter should stay at home till Wednesday the 5th June 2013 when we her parents accompany her to school and according to the school Principal who is the husband of the said Mrs. Otieno our daughter had disobeyed a teacher at the evening assembly and caused disturbance” the mother further said.

The father says that her daughter despite having been released from school at 7.45pm arrived home at 8;15pm weeping and upon being asked what the problem was said that Mrs.Otieno who is the wife of the school’s Principal had highlighted that her daughter was a girl with evil spirits and asked her to read the bible so that evil spirits in her could go away and students were cautioned not to associate with her.

“Surprisingly she ordered my daughter to go for prayers in her office after assembly (for divine intervention) and at school Mrs.Otieno had convinced other students to isolate her resulting to us going to school to seek audience with the school principal “the father said.

Upon entering the Principal’s office they found a visitor whom they later discovered was a District Children Officer in Kisumu East and had come to investigate the case of a child who was being accused of being a devil worshipper ands was not in school.

The father says that the children’s officer insisted that all parties to the case be called in but it took her a lot of time to convince the school Principal who only allowed the Deputy Principal ,class teacher of my daughter and Mrs.Otieno” the girl’s father added.

Details which emerged from that meeting says that the Children’s officer wanted to know why Mrs.Otieno (the Principal’s wife) was the only teacher with problems with the said student yet she was not taking her in any subject; she lamentably defended herself that she was a senior counselor in the school from whom the principal relies on for admission.

“Surprisingly the school principal told us to go back with our daughter saying her admission was cancelled as she had a trial admission which I had never heard of and my daughter was not now being accepted at Joel Omino.

The children’s officer insisted on a written letter showing whether his daughter was a student or had been sent away but the Principal was adamant she advised them that the only way forward was to move to court since basic education was a constitutional right and one of the responsibilities of school principal is enforcing the said law.

In their papers to be filed in court, they demand to know the source of power the Principal’s wife has which makes her push innocent children out of Joel Omino yet allow their own biological children to learn and teach in Joel Omino while innocent children are being denied their right to education and to give protection to her while schooling at Joel Omino.

Contacted for comment the school Principal denied the allegations saying the student had been sent home to bring the fee balance and what she never brought on her admission while referring us to the head of his wife church Dr.David Owuor in regard to his wife’s spiritual prowess.

“The County Education Officer Mrs.Beatrice Adu knows the role my wife plays in this school, so refer all such questions to her” he added.

Kisumu County Education Officer did not respond to the numerous sms we sent to her before going to the press.

EXTRAMARITAL SEX AND INFIDELITY IN MARRIAGE

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2012

Last Saturday Rev Fr Augustine Achaha of the Apostles of Jesus Missionaries presided over a wedding ceremony between Emily Matunda Mwafusi and Christopher Mwakatili Chorongo, one of its kind in 3 years at St Thomas Catholic Church in Magadi Soda, Ngong Diocese.

Basing his 37 minutes homily on extramarital sex and infidelity in marriage, Father Achaha caused laughter when he asked a question on what good do men get in other women’s wives that is not in their wives.

People laughed of course, but the truth of the matter is that cases of extramarital sex and infidelity in marriage are on the rise. Here in Kenya the act is popularly known in Swahili as ‘mpango wa kando’ (extramarital sex).

This is where a married man keeps a mistress elsewhere without the knowledge of his wife. A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner but can have children that the man must take care of as his rest of the lawful children.

The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually, but not always, secret. There is an implication that a mistress may be “kept”—i.e., that the lover is paying for some of the woman’s living expenses including paying school fees for children and paying rent.

Because of its graveness this act may carry moral or religious and consequences in civil or religious law. It can lead to separation or divorce.

In Judaism the Torah prescribes the death penalty through stoning for adultery, which is defined as having sex with a woman who is married to another man. Two witnesses of good character had to testify in court for the case to be even considered by the judges.

Extramarital sex is considered to be immoral by most Christian groups, who base this primarily on passages like 1Cor 6:9-10: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor those who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Extramarital sex has historically been considered to be one of the more serious and damaging sins, possibly because of passages like 1 Corinthians 6:18 that speak of it as sinning against one’s own body.

In Islam the law prescribes severe punishments extramarital sex, by both men and women. Premarital sex could be punished by up to 100 lashes, while adultery is punishable by stoning.

There are reasons men give for cheating on their wives. They do so because they have become unsatisfied with their wives. Cheating usually occurs in the phase of companionate love, when couples begin to settle down, have kids and solidify the life being built together.

There are five categories leading to infidelity. One is opportunistic infidelity which occurs when a partner is in love and attached to a partner, but surrenders to their sexual desire for someone else. The opportunistic infidelity is driven by irrepressible lust, situational circumstances and/or opportunity, and sometimes, pure risk-taking behavior.

The second category is obligatory infidelity based on fear that refraining from someone’s sexual advances will result in rejection, and being unwilling to handle such rejection, resulting in surrender to them. Some people end up cheating solely on the need for approval from somebody, even though they still hold a strong attraction to their committed partner.

The third category is romantic infidelity which occurs when the cheater is in the process of “falling out of love” with his/her partner. The person’s self-perceived obligatory commitment to the relationship’s tenets and overall life-meaning is likely the only thing still keeping them with their partner in this example.

The fourth category is conflicted romantic infidelity which takes place when a person both falls in love with and has a strong sexual desire for multiple people at one time, even though s/he may already be committed to a partner.

In this circumstance the person feels s/he cannot tell his/her committed partner about what has happened, but is nevertheless unable to resist the compulsion.

The fifth category is commemorative infidelity which occurs when a person has completely fallen out of love with their spouse, but is still in a committed relationship with them.

If divorce results from infidelity, research suggest that the “faithful” spouse may experience feelings of low life satisfaction and self esteem; they may also engage in future relationships fearful of the same incidence occurring. Divorce is one response to marital infidelity.

The church is concerned about these issues because marriage and the family are of fundamental importance for the Church and for society.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

KENYA: HOMA BAY GOVERNOR CRIES FOUL OVER ALARMING SCHOOL PREGNANCIES

from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2013

Homa Bay County Governor Cyprian Awiti expressed concern over the weekend about cases of school pregnancies and early marriages in his county. This is the county where cases of teachers defiling their students have proved uncontrollable. Many schoolgirls have dropped out of school after getting pregnant.

The problem extends to the neighboring Migori County where Suba and Nyatike districts have has been mostly affected. Other districts include Homa Bay, Ndhiwa, Mbita and Rachuonyo. These districts have been hit hard by the vice where a school could record up to ten cases of pregnancies in a year.

Efforts by authorities including chiefs to prevent parents from encouraging their daughters to get married at early age have not worked out either. Parents have also encouraged sexual relationships between their underage daughters and the miners in the areas because these miners have some money to spend both on the girl and on the parents.

According to Emily Waga, a senior children’s officer in the area this is happening because where poverty is common, girls become the best way out of it for many families. Many girls according to Ruth Adero, a maternal and child health nurse at Nyatike District Hospital are younger than 18 account for 48 percent of all expectant mothers visiting the Hospital.

Speaking to reporters in his Kisumu office recently, the area director of education Mr.Geoffrey Cherongis said the whole Nyanza Province is affected. Many of these girls are vulnerable because they are orphans and can easily be abused by men.

Apart from mining areas, the worst affected are those who hails from the fishing communities along the shores of Lake Victoria. Up to 13,000 Kenyan girls drop out of school every year as a result of pregnancy, and around 17 percent of girls have had sex before they turn 15.

Even though school’s policy in Kenya is to encourage girls to return to school after they give birth, many felt too stigmatised or had no help to look after their children and therefore stayed away or got married.

Many pregnancies have been reported from the slums. This is because many parents in the slum had inadequate control since work kept them away from their children, sometimes for days.

As a result, children learnt about sex from the wrong sources, such as the numerous video halls that allowed children to view pornographic films.

The girls also have to live in one room with their parents until they are mature, and many of them witness their parents having sex, so they learn about it early.

It is not only Homa Bay County or Nyanza that is affected but Kenya in general. It is reported that in Kenya, teenage pregnancies remain high at 18 per cent though with regional differentials.

In most cases, boda boda riders and relatives are accused of luring young girls with money and other goodies. Other culprits include amorous teachers, male pupils and members of the public.

Perhaps the most recent shocking incident is that of Chepkurkur Primary in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County where 18 pupils got pregnant and dropped out of school in June this year.

In the same month in Cheplanget Primary in Buret, Kericho County, five girls aged between 11 and 16 dropped out of school for similar reasons and boda boda riders were said to be the culprits.

Similarly, a survey by Plan International last year showed a total of 120 schoolgirls in Kilifi County dropping out of school due to early pregnancies.

Another survey by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) indicates that the Coastal region has the second highest teenage pregnancy rate in Kenya after the former Nyanza province.

The report shows that 26 per cent of teenagers in the former Coast province become pregnant after Nyanza which has a rate of 27 per cent rate. The teenage pregnancy rate for Central is 10 per cent. This statistics were not provided for other regions.

Report indicates that girls aged 15-19 years within coast region had already begun child bearing, while in Murang’a County the highest number of teenage pregnancies accounts for 18 per cent of teenage pregnancies within Central Kenya region.

While according to national figures the youth who are below the age of 18 account for 46 per cent of the national population, about 16 million girls between the age of 16 and 19 give birth a year, this is despite the fact that the Children’s Act provides for children’s rights to education.

In Section 7(1) it states, “Every child shall be entitled to education, the provision of which shall be the responsibility of the Government and parents.” Section 7(2) affirms the right and entitlement for every child to free basic education, which shall be compulsory in accordance with Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Yet the numbers of those teenagers visiting clinics for ante-natal services are few since many cannot afford the services or live too far from the clinics. For others, affording a single meal is a problem.

Before he became pope, Francis spoke his mind about many of the most sensitive topics the Roman Catholic Church faces today and sex abuse among minors was one of them. From “On Heaven and Earth,” published in 2012, and his authorized biography “The Jesuit,” published in 2010 and republished last recently as “Pope Francis, Pope calls for sex education to help curb the mess.

But he warns; this is only if done holistically, with love and not just sex in mind.

“I think it should be done throughout the growth of children, adapted to each phase. … What happens now is many of those who raise the banner of sex education understand it as separate from the person’s humanity. So, instead of counting on a sexual education law for the entire person, for love, it’s reduced to a law for sex.”

The church had initially argued that it was too risky introducing the subject in schools because of suspicions that teachers and organizations that have been campaigning for the use of condoms could use the forum to supply the students with such devices.

In other words, sex education in schools should be handled by teachers of integrity and high morals and who are themselves trained on the issues so as to avoid a negative effect or influence on impressionable minds while trying to shape the lives of the young people.

In Sub-Saharan African by age 20, at least 80 percent youth are sexually experienced. For instance, 73 percent of all Liberian women aged 15 to 19 have had intercourse, as have 53 percent of Nigerian, 49 percent of Ugandan, and 32 percent of Botswanan women.

In many sub-Saharan countries, first sexual activity takes place before marriage. Among Kenyan women, the median age at first marriage is 18.8 years, while the median age of first intercourse is 16.8 years. Data also show that four percent of Kenyan men are married by age 18, although 64 percent report sexual intercourse before that age.

Factors that influence the median age at first intercourse include residence and education. In Kenya, rural young women engage in intercourse earlier than urban women, and the median age at first intercourse for women with no education, three years earlier than women with at least a secondary school education.

In a Ugandan study, 17 percent of young women ages 15 to 18 have undergone an abortion. Most of them are not prepared to take care of the children because the reason for having intercourse was not for having babies.

A review of 13 studies in seven sub-Saharan African countries show that adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19 years account for 39 to 72 percent of all abortion-related complications.

Young men often begin sexual activity earlier and have more sexual partners than young women. In Guinea, the mean age for first sexual intercourse among young men is 15.6 and among young women, 16.3. Further, Guinea’s sexually active young men report a mean lifetime number of four sexual partners, compared to 2.1 partners among sexually active young women.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.comFacebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

UN: Reject Nigerian Senate changes to law allowing girls’ under-age marriages — Youth & Children

From: athmanabdallahmohamed

I strongly back the rejection! And I feel that we should all do to protect the rights of girl chald in Africa

………..
Mr. Athumani Abdulla Mohamed
Finance & Admin Officer
C.I.P.K – Mombasa
Mob: 0705863475

– – – – – – – – – – –

——– Original message ——–
From: Emmanuel Dennis
Date:
Subject: UN: Reject Nigerian Senate changes to law allowing girls’ under-age marriages — Youth & Children

AfricaFiles

Action: UN: Reject Nigerian Senate changes to law allowing girls’ under-age marriages
Act By: 8/1/2013
Sponsor: Eme Awa
Other Contact Info: mail@change.org
Action Site: Change.org

African Charter Article# 18: The State will protect the family as the natural unit and basis of society; the rights of women, children, the aged, and the disabled will be protected.

Summary & Comment: Under Section 29 (4a and 4b) of the Nigerian Constitution, a woman shall not be qualified for marriage until she is 18 years of age. The Nigerian Senate has proposed changing that provision to “a woman is deemed to be of full age once she is married,” irrespective of the age she did so. Please urge the UN to reject this change by August 1, 2013, when the petition is scheduled to be submitted to the UN. JS

——–

United Nations: Stop the Nigerian Senate from making under-age marriage the law!

Please sign this petition to protect many generations of Nigerian girl children, now and in the future, from sexual exploitation. Please urge the UN to reject this change by August 1, 2013, when the petition is scheduled to be submitted to the UN.

http://www.change.org/petitions/united-nations-stop-the-nigerian-senate-from-making-under-age-marriage-the-law?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_message_notice

http://charlesegwuba.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/childnotbride-a-disjointed-and-ridiculous-law-by-the-nigerian-senate/

http://allafrica.com/stories/201307220337.html

Kenyua, Kisumu County: Men who marry underage girls to be castrated

from: Judy Miriga

Good People,

While I condemn the behiviour of marrying underage young girls, the panishment proposed here is harsher than can imagined.

Je, huyu Gavana, ametumwa? To me, it is associated to the “Cut”‘ Couldnt he look for another way for punishment???…..Hapa niko na tashwishi……..iko nyama…….lazima hii maneno ichunguzwe… Are the Chinese contract for harvesting in the “Cut” still valid in Luo Nyanza??? I mean, are these cutters still going to the villages tu cut in the wee of darkness……..I think this Gavana need to be serious…….I am being troubled……… Mali ya Mungu need peace.

This thing about looking for punishment as damage control in the wrong sector of industrial department is bothering me……

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Kisumu County: Men who marry underage girls to be castrated

Written by KNU Reporter
Published inGovernor News Saturday, 03 August 2013 09:59

Men marrying underage children in Kisumu County may be in danger once new by-laws come into effect.

They are even suggestions they should be castrated as a punishment for marrying a child who should be in school instead of taking care of a grown man as a husband.

A Kisumu County assembly member took a child abuse debate too far when debating on a motion seeking to come up with stringent by-laws that protect children’s rights.

County assembly member for West Seme Benta Ndeda stood up to raise a proposal that stunned many of her counterparts.

Ms Ndeda claimed she was disappointed with many elderly men who force underage girls into their homes.

She said this stopped many of the girls continuing with their education.

The matter and the ‘harsh’ measure of castrating law breakers, however, was not taken well by her male counterparts.

“It is so painful that many young girls are taken and forced into marriage by men who should be castrated as punishment,” said Ndeda.

In many countries in the world, castration has been a common procedure in dealing with sex offenders.

– See more at:
http://kenyanewsupdates.com/county-news/governor-news/item/732-kisumu-county-men-who-marry-underage-girls-to-be-castrated.html#sthash.iWcveQa5.dpuf

ALL OF US TO BLAME FOR TEEN PREGNANCY

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2013

Deputy President William Ruto over the weekend on his political tour to woe electorates in Western Kenya to join and support Jubilee coalition said chiefs are to blame for teen pregnancy, threatening they would be sacked if they do not stop the vice. Ruto said chiefs know very well who impregnate these girls and yet they do not charge them.

This is to think naïve. All of us politicians, business men, members of clergy, etc are responsible for the pregnancy of these innocent tender girls. January 10, 2005 was a Monday like today when my article ran on Kenya Times.

The article depicted the drama in an Eldoret when members of the public caught a business man red-handed with a school girl in lodging preparing to have sex. This was just few of such cases that had been reported in that area.

When the 16-year old Form Two girl who admitted to have consented to sex after the business man had bought her some chapati (flat baked bread), was asked why she consented to sex when she was still a minor and at school, the answer crowned it all. We are consenting to sex because our parents cannot afford to cater for our basic needs.

The girl did not shy off to state very bravely that there were several of such business men in the area who lured schoolgirls with money. They even bought them expensive phones, paid their school fees, did for them shopping. “These guys are just good to us”, the girl expressed.

The girl who said the man who is having sex with her even when school is closed was her neighbour said he had bought an assortment of items for her to take to school. He had taken her to a supermarket in town where he did the back-to-school shopping for her before the lodging ordeal.

The girl said almost every girl in that school had an elderly man friend and her case was just very unfortunate because they were caught. The whole thing here is not just sex- it is to do with poverty.

While Ruto was putting blames on chiefs, elsewhere a doctor had been arrested for performing abortion on 17 years old girl. Again this is just few cases of abortions performed on teenagers. On Thursday, September 23, 2004 the same newspaper, Kenya Times ran my story on this ordeal.

The story was about the former Nairobi archdiocese Bishop’s secretary, Father Maloba Wesonga. He had thrown the blame on the leading Catholic leaders including President Kibaki, Leader of the Official Opposition Uhuru Kenyatta and National Assembly Speaker, Francis Ole Kaparo for failing to come forward to condemn abortion in Kenya which was on the rise that year.

A National Assessment of the Magnitude and Consequences of Unsafe Abortion in Kenya had just released its report that year that an estimated 300,000 abortions were being performed annually, 700 daily with 2,600 women dying every year from complications related to abortion.

Catholic leaders could not condemn abortion because the constitution that time did not specify when life of a person begins. That is why in 2004 Lady Justice Rawal acquitted Dr. John Nyamu on the ground that the unborn children were according to Section 214 of the penal incapable of being killed.

This was partly because prosecution had chosen to charge Dr. Nyamu for murder (S.203 of penal code) and not the procuring of abortion (158 to 160 of the penal code). That is also why the judge ignored the provisions of the criminal procedure code that required her to find the accused guilty of killing the unborn even though he had not been charged with it (181(2) of the Criminal procedure code).

Dr John Nyamu was arrested for performing abortion which included 15 foetuses found dumped in a Nairobi river. Fourteen suspects were arrested in connection with the dumping. They included 10 proprietors of various back-street clinics in Eastlands area, where the unborn babies were retrieved.

Even in Tanzania where abortion is restricted by law, there is overwhelming evidence that it is widely practised. Studies show that illegal abortion is one of the major causes of maternal mortality. A study conducted in the Southern Highlands in 1983 estimated that 17 per cent of maternal deaths were directly associated with abortion.

Even in Uganda where under the Penal Code of 15 June 1950 (sections 136-138, 205 and 217) the performance of abortions is generally prohibited, abortion is still performed. As a result, there is a high level of maternal mortality, estimated in 1990 at 1,200 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The reasons women and girls cite for choosing abortion are broadly similar throughout the world: Women may want to stop or postpone childbearing. They may have socio-economic reasons for ending pregnancy — they may not be able to afford the costs of having and raising a child, or they may want to continue pursuing their educational and career goals.

Others may choose abortion because of relationship problems or because their pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. And still others may cite age or health reasons — they feel too young or too old to have a baby or that pregnancy will affect their own or their baby’s health.

At the time Dr Nyamu was accused of performing abortion, every single day Kenyatta National Hospital received between 40 to 60 abortion cases with most of the patients being teenagers and young women barely into their twenties.

It was the same time that Legislator Adeline Mwau wanted to see abortion legalised in Kenya. She argued that there is a strong link between abortion and poverty and that is why if one cannot take care of the baby, the only alternative is to terminate it.

“Is it better to bring up a child who then becomes a street child, or to bring up seven children that one is unable to take care of?,” she was quoted by media as asking and adds that women should continue aborting as long as there is no law in Kenya that forces a man to pay for the upkeep of a child fathered out of wedlock.

Girls and young women who do not want to get pregnant have resorted in taking Morning- After Pill (MAP). MAP works by preventing ovulation or making it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in the uterine wall. MAP is 75-80 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.

It consists of a relatively high dose of Estrogen & Presterone and is given within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to women who are ovulating and are near midcycle (ovulation).

Other methods to prevent pregnancies include the Abortion Pill (brand name Mifeprex) which is a form of early abortion caused by the combination of two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone needed to maintain the pregnancy.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002