The Forum for African Women Educationalists Zambia (FAWEZA) has handed over personal protective items to Kamulanga Secondary School to support efforts in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Development Diaries gathered that the Vice National Chairperson of the organisation, Cecilia Sakala, handed over the safety kits to the school.
But she said that the organisation was worried that many girls still drop out of school due to early marriage and pregnancy.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners have estimated that due to the Covid-19 pandemic there could be around seven million unintended pregnancies in the coming months.
UNFPA believes that the pandemic is deepening inequalities and millions of women and girls now risk losing the ability to protect their bodies and health.
Sakala said, ‘The advent of Covid-19 has negatively affected the learning of CSE in schools and is likely to result in high dropout rates among girls especially in rural areas and vulnerable communities.
‘FAWEZA is concerned with the high number of teenage pregnancies in Zambia. The Ministry of General Education indicated that in 2018 teenage pregnancies stood above 15,000 and less than 50 percent of these (girls) re-entered school.
‘This is of great concern to FAWEZA because despite the country having in place the re-entry policy of 1997, few female learners are benefiting from it.
The sponsors were the Swedish Embassy, through the Non-Governmental Gender Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC), the Norwegian Church Aid, and an anonymous partner based in Kenya.
Reacting to the donation, the head boy of the school, Mike Banda, said, ‘This gesture that you have done will go a very long way. We were afraid and terrified of Covid-19 as pupils of Kamulanga Secondary School but now you have come to get us out of the lion’s den. We were learning in fear but now FAWEZA has come to give us confidence’.
It was learnt that in 2019, FAWEZA assisted 460 teen mothers and former child brides to re-enter school. These teen mothers were reported to have been provided with scholarships to keep them in school.
Source: FAWE
Photo source: FAWE
