TRAIN A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO: PART I
Pregnancy VS HIV!
The comparison between having a child and having a lifelong disease is beyond me but my fellow Kenyan youths are not bothered by it, which makes absolutely no sense and this is why it’s important for our youth and teens to be talked to.
Parents need to talk to their children about controversial topics, especially abortion and sexual responsibility, because there exists a lot of misinformation and misleading perceptions despite possible life-changing consequences.
If this is not addressed the country will be grappling with a health burden.
Large blame falls on the parents for not taking the time to sit down with their children and talk to them about this. Not only the parents but there is inadequate leadership to guide teens and young adults to live a responsible life. They are relying on what they see trending on social media to live their lives.
This should not be the case because our collective wish is to have a beautiful yet stable country.
One of the misleading pieces of information that the youth in the 21st century believe is that sex is a norm. They have seen this in films, books and examples have been set for them by some celebrities or even in their households. And what makes it worse is the fact that some of our teens are being pressured into it so they may be “cool”. We all know that sex leads to so many things; babies, sexually transmitted diseases, and others may say soul ties!
Teenage pregnancy rates have been growing rapidly in Kenya over the last few years just between January and February our Ministry of Health reported 45,724 teenage pregnancies. Most teens with strict parents are forced to carry the pregnancy to term, while others opt for abortion and others suicide.
About 98 people have abortions every day in Kenya. Also approximately 13% of pregrancy-related deaths have been attributed to complications of abortion. Imagine the deaths through this.
Abortion in Kenya is illegal. Which I am happy to say is a good thing. It keeps some of our youth on toes yet for others it does not, hence the comparison between HIV and Pregnancy.
I have heard not only one but a couple of young adults saying they would rather get HIV than be pregnant!
They would prefer to live on medication than to have a child. Shouldn’t they just prefer to be safe from it all just by being responsible?
And is it not our duty as parents and adults to show this?
Are WE real enough with the youth?
The thing is we are not vivid enough with the upcoming generation.
#Chukua Selfie ( Take a selfie) is a campaign launched in 2019 to support HIV tests being done, it a song featuring some of the most famous musicians and rappers in Kenya in support of the campaign. Chukua Selfie – Starring Fena, Khaligraph Jones, Jua Cali, Nyashinski, Naiboi.When I first watched the video I was disappointed, I had no idea it was a campaign and I thought it was just the regular local music video done. I felt that it’s dirty and inappropriate and anyone below 13 should not watch it. I am not sure that’s what they wanted to portray. Reservations on the video are rife with several sentiments alluding to the view that the video missed the mark, it was misinformative and gave us the wrong idea for what was meant to be a “get yourself checked” campaign.
I love to look at a cigarette pack. When you buy a pack of cigarettes there is normally a diagram at the front or at the back of the box, of decayed teeth or maybe damaged lungs. An example of a cigarette pack you can look at is; Goldflake.
This is good because you know that if I take this product this is what I am doing to myself there is no hidden motive with this. The information is right in front of your eyes
Are we like this with the youth? Because this is what they need to make the right choices. if they do make the wrong choices it is up to them. However, we can say that they were taught and nothing was hidden from them. Crystal clear. Everything laid bare.
So now that the question has been framed, what are we going to do about it?
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