Teen Mom – Page 6 – Ten Eighteen Uganda

Teen Moms and the Culture Problem

Jen / May 12, 2022 / culture, Teen Mom, Teen Pregnancy

I’ve been working in the Namuwongo slum for a long time — since 2009. One of the most ubiquitous things that you see when walking through the slum is men drinking moonshine, smoking, and playing pool and cards in speakeasy, while women are hawking goods on the street, carrying jerrycans on their heads, and managing a bunch of children.

And yet, it’s the girls who get sold off for brides, who get denied schooling if funds are limited, who aren’t given sanitary pads to manage their periods with dignity, who are told as (often young) teens that “it’s time to find someone to take care of you.” Meaning a man.

Culture is a hard thing to change.

A man can find a desperate girl to live with him in exchange for food and a roof over her head. She’ll call him her “husband,” but as soon as she’s pregnant he’ll kick her out and likely disappear. No one takes responsibility for the babies except for the girls.

Culture is a hard thing to change.

But we are doing it, slowly by slowly. (Mpolo mpola in Luganda.)

We have young men volunteering with us who have sisters who got pregnant because of desperate circumstances. They have seen the desperation and downward spiral that starts with a pregnancy, and they have begun to see that their sisters, their mother, their female friends have VALUE. They are worth protecting and respecting.

Culture is a hard thing to change, but we can do it. Mpolo mpola.

Blessings,

Jennings

Teen Moms and the Culture Problem Read More »

Mother’s Day Is a Day To Celebrate

Jen / May 5, 2022 / DonorSee, Literacy, Teen Mom, Vocational Skills

I’m a mom, although all my kids are adults now. It was great when they were at home! It was also ALL THE THINGS: loud, too quiet (what are they up to now?!), hilarious, emotional, frustrating, wonderful, joyous, instructional, mystifying, magical… Being a parent will certainly expand your emotional repertoire!

This weekend, we celebrate the courage, love, dedication, and hard work of all our girls who had babies too soon.

Who are just kids themselves, but who are dedicated to providing a better life for their children.

Who go to class with a baby strapped to their back, persevere through bouts of crying, stay up all night with a sick baby but get to class the next day anyway.

Being a mom is, well, all the things. We hope that, for our teen moms, it’s mostly joy.

Thank you for your support of the Ross and Suubi Houses, as well as Skills for Life. You are changing lives every day.

Webele nyo,

Jennings

Help Gloria move!

PS Gloria is a 17 year old teen mom who has lived at the Ross and Suubi Houses for over a year. She is saving money to be able to move out on her own soon. We’re so proud of her! You can help us give her a leaving package to help with her independent life.

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Exciting Update on the Literacy Class

Jen / April 28, 2022 / Literacy, Teen Mom, Vocational Skills

When we started the Literacy program in January, we were starting from scratch. We weren’t teaching little kids, we were teaching teen girls. We also wanted to make it FUN, something that Ugandan schools aren’t exactly known for. We weren’t even sure exactly how long each term would last!

As with all our entry-level vocational classes, after a couple of weeks of assessment, we divided the class into two classes, morning and afternoon. The girls who had already had some amount of early schooling were in one class, those who were illiterate due to lack of school were in another.

We had an enthusiastic teacher and teacher’s assistant, some ESL and early primary “western”-style curricula, and enthusiasm. And a VERY motivated student body!

Three months later (yes, just three months!), we have girls getting ready to move on to a vocational skill in Skills for Life. This means they can read, write, do basic math, and speak basic English!

IN.THREE.MONTHS.

We have incorporated games, puzzles, songs, poetry, reading aloud and all sorts of other things to make it fun. And they are THRIVING!

We do have some girls who haven’t progressed as quickly, of course, and they will continue on until they have achieved functional literacy. When I’m there in May, I will do several training sessions with the teachers on learning styles and learning disabilities (odds are good we have at least one girl with some learning difficulties). I’ll also be bringing a few board games and decks of cards. And we’ll use this first term’s successes and struggles to map out a more formal curriculum.

Suffice it to say, our girls are taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to them, and we couldn’t be more proud!

If you’d like to support this important work by becoming a MONTHLY DONOR, it would be a huge blessing to us. (Just like everywhere in the world, Uganda is suffering from rising prices on food and other necessities.) Just click the button and sign up – 100% goes to our programs!

YES, I want to be a monthly donor!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

Exciting Update on the Literacy Class Read More »

Graduation Was Simply Amazing!

Jen / April 26, 2022 / school, Skills for Life, Teen Mom, Vocational Skills

Graduation was AMAZING on Saturday!

We had 20 girls who never thought they’d ever wear a cap and gown or walk the stage to get a diploma or certificate who laughed and cried and danced and feasted to celebrate their own success. It was wonderful!

Every girl has a story. Stories like 17-year-old Sharon, who is the firstborn of five children. She did attend school for a few years but soon had to leave because her family couldn’t afford the fees.

Sharon gave up hope and turned to drugs and alcohol.

But our team identified her on our community outreach, enrolled her in Skills for Life, and now she has completed her hairdressing course and is ready to work in a salon or start her own business.

THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT.

Education in ways that make our girls able to sustain a livelihood.

It’s why 100% of donations go to Uganda and our programs. YOU are changing lives every day!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS We currently have a project on DonorSee to fund the graduation, which allows us to put on the *next* graduation in August or September. We’d love your help to continue celebrating our teen girls’ amazing accomplishments! Just click the button below!

PAY IT FORWARD!

Graduation Was Simply Amazing! Read More »

Ever Wonder What a Day at Our Compound Looks Like?

Jen / April 14, 2022 / Bob Ditty, Clinic, Compound Life, Daycare, Literacy, Teen Mom, Vocational Skills

Thanks to the amazing footage from Bob Ditty’s visit, I was able to create this video: A Day at Ten Eighteen’s Touch the Slum Project . I hope you take the time to watch!

Ever Wonder What a Day at Our Compound Looks Like? Read More »

15 Years Old and a New Mom – Kalunji

Jen / March 31, 2022 / Literacy, Teen Mom, Teen Pregnancy

Kalunji came to our program when she was 5-months pregnant. She was living with her grandmother (jaja) in a terrible wooden shack in the slum. They didn’t have enough food, but her jaja insisted that Kalunji eat to nurture the baby.

Our team, with help from our donors at DonorSee, provided food, a mattress, bedding, a mosquito net, and a water filter for this small family. Kalunji began spending her days at the compound, even though she wasn’t enrolled in any of our programs. We fed her two meals a day and got her enrolled with Amani, an organization that helps teen moms with prenatal care and childbirth.

In January, Kalunji began learning reading, writing, basic math, and English in our new Literacy Program.

A month ago, Kalunji presented to our nurse at the Haven Clinic with severe malaria. She began an IV treatment and went into labor (about 3 weeks early) that evening.

Unfortunately, Amani was completely full! We also hadn’t purchased the required birthing kit yet. But our nurse, Sherry, called all around Kampala and finally found Kalunji space at the KCCA Hospital, where she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Kareem.

Kalunji moved into the Ross House, our residential program for teen moms in crisis, from the hospital. Two weeks later, her jaja died.

Raheem is a month old now, and doing really well! Sherry gives him all his regular checkups, as well as Mama. Kalunji is now back in Lit class, and she’s even rejoined dancing in Teen Talk on Fridays.

Next term, Kalunji will join one of the vocational classes in Skills for Life.

THIS IS WHAT WE DO, AND WHY WE ARE HERE

Girls like Kalunji, forced to trade sex just to have food or sanitary pads, are forgotten, shunned, ignored. Illiterate, desperately impoverished, and with no living family to help, her chances of even surviving childbirth were low.

But now she is safe, healthy, cared for, and learning.

There are thousands like Kalunji in the Namuwongo slum, and we can’t help them all. But those we can bring into our program are given sustainable skills, counseling, mentoring, and the life skills needed to not just survive but thrive.

These are hard stories… But they are stories of HOPE. OPPORTUNITY. CHANGE. And they are possible because of you.

Webele nyo!

Jennings

15 Years Old and a New Mom – Kalunji Read More »

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AT THE ROSS HOUSE

Jen / March 20, 2022 / Daycare, Food Insecurity, Teen Mom

If you’ve been with us awhile, you know that every month we do a One Fun Thing for our resident teen moms. This started way back in 2009, when my kids and I started going to Uganda and spending time in the slum, because it’s HARD. If it’s hard to visit, imagine how hard it is to live there!

So every trip, we do a One Fun Thing, and every month, our moms get treated to One Fun Thing – like the KFC Christmas party in December.

Since it was International Women’s Day last week, we had a feast to celebrate our girls. (Clearly the kids, like Imran, enjoyed it, too!)

We believe that everyone should have the chance at FUN. At laughter. At celebration. At dancing.

Is the One Fun Thing technically “essential”? We’d actually say yes! When you’re doing hard things, it’s always good to remember what you’re fighting for.

More One Fun Things. More dancing. More joy. More LIFE.

Maybe even more than ONE fun thing every month.

Blessings,

Jennings

PS We’ve got a project on DonorSee to restock the food for the daycare. We are providing 2 meals a day to the children of our teen moms, staff, and teachers. Click on the button to help us with all that food!

LET’S GET SOME FOOD!

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AT THE ROSS HOUSE Read More »

LITERACY IS PRICELESS

Jen / March 20, 2022 / Literacy, Teen Mom, Teen Pregnancy, Vocational Skills

We currently have 20 girls taking Basic Literacy. Some of them had a small bit of school, so they know the basics. Some were completely illiterate. English is “the common language” in Uganda, but many can’t speak it because they didn’t go to school. With 60 tribes and the slum melting-pot, it can be hard to communicate if you don’t know English.

After less than two months, the un-schooled girls know the alphabet and numbers, can read and write 3-letter words, and have done videos for us entirely in English! The other class, with girls who have had some schooling, are writing out the names of numbers and working with bigger words.

In short, they are flying through the course with amazing passion. They know what an opportunity free education is — it’s almost unheard of in Uganda! They know these are skills they will need once they’ve gone through a vocational skill course in Skills for Life and have jobs or small businesses. They are ON FIRE to learn!

Thank you so much for your support! Because of you, teen moms and teen girls in the slum are gaining invaluable skills for themselves and their families.

Blessings,

Jennings

LITERACY IS PRICELESS Read More »

ROSS HOUSE UPDATE!

Jen / March 20, 2022 / DonorSee, Teen Mom, Teen Pregnancy

Last Friday, 15-year-old Kalunji gave birth to her son at KCCA Hospital. She was supposed to go through Amani which had been giving her free prenatal care, but she went into labor early and Amani was full.

Our nurse, Sherry, finally found her a spot in KCCA’s private ward, then stayed at the hospital all night. The baby was delivered at 2am, and Kalunji had only minor complications — a real risk with teens giving birth.

Kalunji and baby (no name yet!) are back at the Ross House and being taken care of by Mama Santa, Sherry, and all the other teen moms who are helping, advising, and loving on mama and baby.

This is why we do what we do. A 15-year-old giving birth in a filthy wooden hut is a recipe for disaster. But because Kalunji has been in our program for counseling and the Literacy class, she is being taken care of — for free. She will stay at the Ross House until she’s completed a Skills for Life course in the second term. She will move to the Ross House to transition to self-sufficiency. She will complete the Literacy Class, counseling, have a mentor group, and learn business skills.

And she will be able to sustainably care for herself and her child. Hopefully she will never have to turn to sex work again.

Your support and donations have made this possible. We are just so grateful for your partnership!

Blessings,

Jennings

PS. We have a project up that was supposed to purchase the birthing kit for Kalunji – but she went into labor early and we didn’t get it in time. However, we do have a project for her Ross House entry package – click the button below!

KALUNJI’S PROJECT

ROSS HOUSE UPDATE! Read More »