News and Blogs

By Josephine Odhiambo, Executive Director at Early Risers of Hope

Early adolescent marriage and pregnancy disempowers many girls. It’s a very disturbing reality of gender discrimination where a young teenager drops out of school to raise a child or is forced into marriage. This places the girl child at an abnormal state of mental disorder and unequal platform to equip herself for leadership since the deprivation of opportunities. The girl child especially adolescent experience increases in vulnerability state: To mental disorders as well as social problems that affect their health. The increase in adolescent pregnancies as well as child marriages are on the rise due to poverty, lack of opportunity for further skill development into a great leader to make a sound decision, low level of education and social problems which many families or communities feel are a priority as opposed to the girl child development and empowerment. Knowing that, the adolescent girls and children who get pregnant or married at a tender age are prone to domestic violence and abuse, this is because they are automatically cut off from their families and friends who can guide in sound decision making. Many programs for women and girls may be in place, but many of these pregnant and married teenage girls are never reached directly with these programs, they usually have a lot of pressure to bear more children and have been isolated from many of their friends as well as restricted from friends who can give guidance.

We EROHI have started adolescent centered program to support such teenagers who could be juggling between furthering their studies and parenting at adolescence. Through the inclusive mentorship programs, we guide the adolescent and teenage mothers on developmental skills in leadership, option for parenting like quality childcare to enable them to access school. We involve the teenage boys who are taken through ways in which they could support the girl child to prevent teenage pregnancies arising from fellow teenagers by male adolescents.

The services at EROHI are designed to address the unique challenges faced by the youth within the communities. It has an angle of human design through the desired solutions of the youth with a wholesome community focus approach to address the social problems and create a social impact in the community as well as build leaders of tomorrow. By investing in the youth mentorship and scholarship program at EROHI, we together create a safe space for the teenage mothers to access schools or colleges to acquire skills that will help them in creating more livelihoods in their lives. We also create and equip the teenagers an opportunity in the global platforms to acquire more multi-sectoral skills and knowledge to become grate leaders through the diverse mentorship and Scholars program at EROHI. We will contribute to preventing maternal deaths by preventing adolescent pregnancies as well as preventing micronutrient deficiencies among teenagers. We can embrace and support change by providing opportunities for our teenagers.

Menstrual health is another challenge for many adolescents to attend school as well as a major contributor to teen pregnancy. Many rural communities have girls who may not be able to afford or constantly provide sanitary pads for their daughters, leading to many girls opting for pregnancy as a way to get out of menstruation for a while, not knowing that it’s riskier at their age as their bodies are still developing. Through
EROHI’s mentorship program, which also covers SRHR with a special focus on menstrual hygiene, and by engaging adolescents for a comprehensive understanding of puberty at the adolescent level, we intend to advocate for girls’ menstrual health as a priority for increased investment. EROHI believes that change is possible and it starts with constant mentorship for both girls and boys at adolescent level to grow a generation with diverse skills to support maternal health and equal opportunities for both girl child and boy child to thrive for a just world.

By Josephine Odhiambo, Executive director at Early Risers of Hope

In 2013, I, Josephine, was thrilled to have the incredible opportunity to go to a village called Madola for a community nutrition assessment as part of my undergraduate partnership practicum. After completing my community nutrition assessment in 10 villages of Madola, Namusala, and Bulemia, I made an incredible discovery: many households were headed by minors (parents had passed on) and young teenage girls who had completed primary school but could not access high school/VTCs. This was an amazing opportunity to make a difference! I was so inspired by what I saw that I knew I had to do something to help the girls and boys in Madola and I was excited to do it! I was absolutely thrilled to volunteer my time and resources so that we could join forces with the community to establish a mixed secondary school! This is going to be an amazing opportunity for the young teenage girls and boys in our community to continue their education after primary school!

We can now combine social support with education to help children thrive! We can tackle issues like lack of proper menstrual hygiene and products to help girls feel more comfortable during their first periods. We can close the gap in holistic mentorship in many areas, including social and life skills. This includes personality, self-esteem, confidence, problem solving, business, career goals, leadership, nutrition, and SRHR. We can also look at scholarships for girls to get the best options for their post-secondary and primary education. This is a great chance to make sure the girls in our community have access to the best education. We can also invest in mental health for teenagers. There has been a rise in teenage pregnancies and marriages, which means we can help teenagers in a really positive way.

At EROHI, we are absolutely thrilled to be able to support the mental health and personality development of adolescents! We are thrilled to be able to guarantee that they can focus on their education and flourish in every way through our incredible socio-holistic mentorship program! We’re making a real difference in people’s lives and helping to develop future leaders from underserved rural and low-income communities!

By Josephine Odhiambo, Executive director at Early Risers of Hope

Why should we invest in school health and nutrition?

We all know that a hungry child can’t learn and concentrate or relate well in the classroom environment where an exchange of knowledge and skills is the order of the day. So, let’s make sure they have enough to eat! The good news is that we can help! The current situation is creating new opportunities to support people facing food insecurity and malnutrition, especially women and children living in low-income urban areas and underprivileged communities. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the job market, which has led to a reduction in household income and the need for creative solutions to support the household food system. It’s so inspiring to see partners in the private and public/government sectors working tirelessly to come up with solutions for the economy, reopening, adjustment, and schools reopening! And it’s also so important to have nutrition as a top agenda for consideration in learning institutions.

Why is access to nutritious food important to the child?

The great news is that we can tackle cognitive impairment head on by tackling stunting, chronic undernutrition, and iron deficiency in children and adolescents. This presents a fantastic opportunity for improvement! When children are well nourished with appropriate height for their age, they are more likely to enroll in school, stay in school, attend class regularly, and progress through the grades at a faster pace. A
well-nourished child has a fantastic opportunity to learn well from pre-school all the way to adolescence! And it gets even better! When children are well-nourished, they become more productive as adults, which is a huge boost to the economy.

Imagine a world where every child has access to a healthy and nutritious school lunch! It’s a simple yet powerful idea that can transform the lives of countless young minds. By providing cost-effective and beneficial school feeding programs in all schools and childcare centers, we can make learning more attractive and accessible for children from all backgrounds. It’s a win-win situation! This would be especially impactful
in low-income areas and underserved rural communities, which would also help to improve the quality and inclusivity of education during emergency situations.

The good news is that many children aged three years and above who have chronic undernutrition (e.g., stunting) can still be helped! It is therefore vital that we direct more resources towards nutrition and health in childcare centers. This is where many children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years are found, and it’s a wonderful place for them to be! And here’s another fascinating fact: the first 1,000 days of a child’s life accounts for a whopping 80% of their brain development! This is why it is so important to provide more nutrition education in schools for children. We can make a difference in the lives of children by responding to their growth and learning holistically. We can do this by ensuring that every child has access to good information on their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), nutrition, and health-seeking behaviors.
This is going to help every child achieve their full potential in life! # Keep your immunity strong with a variety of nutrients!