Sixteen and pregnant
Fifteen and pregnant
Fourteen and pregnant


Ah, dear girl, 'wuchidi kansi ho'. - you are still young only

Have you gone to school?
Yes

What grade?
Grade 7, grade 8, grade 10, grade 4

Wuna kushakama ku ulo? Are you sitting in a marriage?
No...

Where is the one who gave you the pregnancy?
On the village...


"You are too young!" My heart cries; but my tongue has no words...

And if I did, would you listen little girl?

Me- I am just the chindele kufuma kuputu- the white person from a far away country. What do I know of your culture, your way of life, the expectations you face?

I know that's what you're thinking, I can see it in your face, hear it in your laugh. Not always, but often enough that I know what it means...

Your mother stands beside you as I announce- you are six months, you are three months, you are eight months.

This is your first delivery, please come to the hospital to deliver

Your last pregnancy ended in an abortion, please come to the hospital to deliver

You are having your second baby, but you are only 17, please come to the hospital to deliver

I see that look of pride from mom- "my daughter is having a baby" and babies are so exciting! Even me, I know that. But that look of pride has more cultural significance- my daughter will give her husband lots of children, my daughter has value because she can reproduce.

And then I see that roll of the eyes and the little smirk, not always, but often enough that I know what it means.... How inconvenient to be told to come to the hospital when you have grown up seeing babies delivered on your village, even in your own home



Little girl, I wish I had the words... Babies are awesome. But in their time. I wish I could teach you to respect your body, to say 'no', that you are more important than your ability to reproduce, that education is so important for yourself and for the children that you will and can have- at the right time. And most of all, that you can make a difference in your village, in the lives of the little people growing up around you. You can bring education and development and change - good change.


But it's not only the girl. Where are these boys- or worse men- who are giving these girls pregnancies? Some of these girls are cheeky- you will find that in every culture and nation under the sun. But many are not- many are following cultural expectations, or worse, don't know any better. But it's the girls I get in the clinic line, the girls coming from antenatal clinic with a note asking for gestational age, it's the girls on the bed that I am scanning. The boy- or man- is not there. So it's the girls who hear:

But you're only 16,17,18
You're still in school
You're not married

I don't have any more words that I can say. Just to watch, helpless, as another child gets ready to give birth to a child...













Helpless? Did I say that? We are not helpless.
This is something that burns in my heart every time I scan a young mother for gestational age. But I am learning, we stand in the strength of our God and Father, praying, hoping, trying, working. But most of all, trusting. He is the one who saves souls, He is the one who changes lives. Us here- we are His hands and heart to a broken, messy world. Not to make the difference, simply to trust Him to make the difference. I work on learning the language, on getting out into the villages to build relationships, on health education with the girls (and guys) that come under my influence, and most of all, on sharing Christ, sharing His love. I don't have any answers, but this is what I can do