My Weekend and My Introduction to Opinions on Teen Pregnancy in Kayanga

Weekend

6/11-6/12

I don't have too much to say about my weekend because I spent most of it catching up on the essays and journaling, which needed to be completed. On Saturday we cooked a meal for the staff at the ELCT Hostel where we have been living. we made two types of pasta, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, and guacamole. This involved going to the market buying ingredients and cooking. For one of my braver classmates it also meant learning to slaughter and prepare a chicken. On Sunday we moved from the ELCT to the Misha Guest House. This move meant that we were much closer to the Kayanga Secondary School where I had been teaching, but much farther from the Womeda headquarters where I will be volunteering this week so its a good thing I brought good walking shoes.

Womeda

6/13-6/14

My group really only spent two days working with womeda. We were to gather information about the communities perception of teen and early pregnancy. The other group had met with students and community leaders and learned that much of the community desires there to be more education in the schools regarding birth control and the negative effects of teen pregnancy. On Monday we met with government officials from the local ward who stuck mostly to the legal regulations which say that 18 is the youngest age for marriage however they did acknowledge the reality of early pregnancy after Dr. Hartman mentioned that it is also something we encounter in the United States. They also discussed that many of the relationships in Kayanga are not formal marriages. It is not uncommon for people to live together for decades as a family without ever becoming officially married. Polygamy is also sometimes considered acceptable in Tanzania. On Tuesday we met with district officials who travel to some of the schools to teach about the issue of early pregnancy. These officials seemed to me to support an abstinence only education and use fear of the consequences as a prevention method. One quote that really jumped out at me was when one official said he would tell students about postpartum depression and say that, "If a young girl gets pregnant she is more likely to commit suicide." This particular group seemed to feel that education about birth control would make students feel their are no consequences to sex, and that this education would make students more curious. One thing that all of the people we interviewed had in common was that the blame early pregnancy on curiosity and young peoples inability to control their urges and desires.