This is why teen mothers shouldn’t be left in the cold
Deonisia (right) helps her 14-year-old daughter, Linda, with homework. Deo dropped out of school 14 years ago due to pregnancy. President Magufuli recently declared that schoolgirls who get pregnant would not be allowed back in class at public schools, not during his term.
PHOTOI ERIC BONIPHACE.
What you need to know:
Deo had her first sexual encounter in July 2002 and when she missed her period thereafter, she did not worry she could be pregnant but rather hoped she would soon get her period again. She learnt she could be pregnant five months later after confiding with friends at school.
“A Form Four girl advised me to drink very strong tea or a mixture of ashes with water to terminate the pregnancy. I did not try any of these because I did not want to die. I think it was God’s plan to give Linda to me,” says Deo who lives in Sinza, Dar es Salaam.
