PROBLEM STATEMENT

 

Teen Mothers and School drop outs, in Kisumu slums, live in grave times. They live in times of great competitiveness with regard to academic requirements for future job security. They live in times of unprecedented socio-economic dynamics and disparities.

 

Teen Mothers and School drop live in times of diminution of resources, of extinction of flora and fauna, of climatic changes and global warming, of soil erosion and food insecurity.

 

In brief, most of Teen Mothers and School drop outs in slums are generally poor. Not necessarily that there are no substantial material and technical resources to mitigate their plight. There are sufficient resources, but most broadly and sarcastically, the general stereotyping and apathy that comes with the status of becoming a Teen Mother; adversity amidst abundance.

The four major problems exacerbating the status quo are as follows:

 

 

1.EDUCATION

Educated people are apt to make informed choices and be effective leaders in their lives and equally play roles in the wider community. In the absence of education or basic literacy, Teen Mothers and School drop outs are not properly or strategically poised to tackle most of the challenges of the dynamic society and particularly those that are skill intensive. We have therefore put forth training programs that equip Teen Mothers and girls in the community in areas of Fabric Design and Tailoring, Information Technology and Hair Arts and Solon and various Hand Crafts.

 

2.LACK OF OWNERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP

The problems that our Teen Mothers and School drop outs face today cannot just be wished away or solved by a specific people from another region. There is a disturbing inertia and lack of initiative on that part of the community so much that Teen Motherhood is considered a taboo to be addressed by the affected families themselves. Therefore, Teen Mothers and School drop outs’ problems must be owned by community together with the Teen Mothers and School drop outs  who must collectively work towards common solutions to their shared solutions.

 

That is the fundamental reason why Teen Mothers and School drop outs have banded together to form the project to tackle the myriad problems within the context and to be examples and mentors to others who will hereafter be victims of the same kind of challenges they are faced with.

 

 

3.ACCESS TO FUNDS AND COLLATERAL

Furthermore, access to funds for development cannot simply be a preserve of a certain group of people who can afford collateral, or who are educated. Banks and Micro-finance groups in Kenya demand collateral in terms of deeds, log books or group-bonds. This arrangement has indeed created bottlenecks for many start-ups as well as ongoing concerns. It is against this background that Teen Mothers and School drop outs project seek grants to kick-start individual development projects for Teen Mothers and School drop outs.

 

4. ATTITUDE AND MENTORSHIP

Another problem that slum communities face is that the mindset still casts woman in the second place of subservience, and the rich and educated folks are arraigned on the other side of the aisle. Without previous experience or mentor, Teen Mothers and School drop outs in the slums who may have access to small loans dive into business or personal projects as a matter of gambling and conjecture, and in the process of time it turns out negative. There is an urgent need for business development and project incubation training by professional volunteers to ease the hardships and pains of failures for the Teen Mothers and School drop outs as they endeavour to be economically profitable to the community.

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ACT NOW