Communities and local governments have been challenged to take bold steps in ensuring children especially girls enroll, stay and complete school cycle.
They are also urged to champion children’s rights so that children enjoy their rights and develop their full potential without hindrance from harmful cultural norms and community vices.
The call was made by the European Union delegation to Uganda and Plan International Uganda during the closure of the Bold Steps Project at Kyemba Gardens on Tuesday.
The project operating in Buyende and Kamuli Distrcit started in 2023 with a bold ambition of empowering adolescent girls and young mothers to take charge of their future through prevention of unintended teenage pregnancies.
The Bold Step Project supported by European Union, Plan International Finland and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland made life changing impact of 17,671 direct participants and 28,489 indirect beneficiaries in Kamuli and Buyende districts
“As we celebrate the milestones achieved under this project, we also reflect and make renewed commitment to ending child marriages and teenage pregnancies and make bold steps to provision of safe, gender responsive and youth friendly services,” Lazarus Mwale, the Director of Programs- strategy execution and implementation Plan International Uganda urged.
Mwale commended the adolescent girls and boys who took bold steps to make informed decisions and shape a better future, and highlighted the outstanding achievement of the toll free call center which received over 3,000 calls in the past 12 months which he said was a clear indication of demand for safe, youth friendly services.
“The design and implementation of this project is in line with Plan International Uganda’s country strategic goal of ensuring that children and youth especially girls develop their full potential in communities that promote their rights and gender equality,” Mwale emphasized.
European Union delegation led by Elizabeth Ongom called for reactivation of parenting saying parents have shunned away from their responsibilities and relegated it to technology, social media and schools to the extent that parents are key promoters of defilement and other vices for economic gains
“Defilement is a crime but parents negotiate and perpetuate it and these are issues beyond EU, NGOs but to be dealt with at local government and duty bearers’ levels,” she pointed out.
The European Union emphasized the issue of girls’ re-entry and staying in school regretting that despite government introduction of free universal education, the school drop-out s are still many which is a community responsibility.
"Today is not an exit but a handover to the systems and communities with the mantle of continuity. Remain steadfast and supportive and sustain the positive practices and mindsets and build on this foundation to shift the narrative of unintended pregancies so that we keep changing generations together," Elizabeth urged.
Michael Kanaku, the Buyende District chairperson on behalf of the local governments acknowledged that despite existing legislations, policies and mechanisms to address sexual gender based violence, child marriages and teenage pregnancies, the implementation policies are weak
“We can’t continue burying our heads in the sand but come to reality that these vices need bold steps and action. It is sad to say Buyende was ranked highest in defilement crime last year and our school completion rate is low so we are waking up to advocate for development and adoption of a School re-entry policy for pregnant girls and child mothers,” Kanaku revealed.
The district chairman allayed fears that the closure of the Project will leave a huge service gap saying the beauty of the Bold Steps Project is that it worked with the established service and local government structures “perhaps the only significant change will be funding”
Giving testimonies and success stories, young mothers hailed the Bold Steps project for transforming their lives and pulling them up from despair to productive members, mothers and parents.
Nalongo 14 and a mother of twins narrated how she almost took her life after the community stigmatized her but through the project she delivered her lovely twins, has gone back to school and is focused on becoming a nurse to help other girls to be aware of their body changes early in life.
“It is like a life miracle that my twins and I owe to the Bold Steps project. My return to school is not just my victory but it is also an inspiration for other teenage mothers. Big and High Five to Plan International and European Union,"Nalongo said with tears of joy.