- Creative arts are being used in Kwale to address teenage pregnancies, early marriages and school dropout.
- Stakeholders say storytelling can challenge harmful practices while encouraging children to remain in school.
- The Amka Nawi film is expected to stimulate community discussion on child protection and education.
Stakeholders in Kwale County are turning to creative arts and film to encourage children to stay in school and address teenage pregnancies and early marriages that continue to disrupt education in parts of Lunga-Lunga Sub-County.
The approach seeks to complement existing education and awareness programmes by using storytelling and creative expression to expose challenges affecting children while encouraging communities to support their education and wellbeing.
Speaking during the launch of the Amka Nawi film at Kibaoni in Lunga-Lunga, Dada Mkubwa programmes coordinator Abigael Ndizi said the production highlights challenges that can prevent girls and boys from achieving their educational goals.
Ndizi said the film is intended to create awareness, evoke emotions and stimulate solution-based discussions on issues contributing to teenage pregnancies, child marriages and school dropouts.
“The film highlights societal challenges and norms that affect our children and calls for stakeholders to come together to see how we can address these problems,” she said.
She said creative arts provide an effective platform for reaching young people and communities, particularly on issues that affect their education and future.
Ndizi said the initiative would also promote the protection and empowerment of both girls and boys, enabling them to overcome challenges, remain in school and pursue their dreams.
Harmful practices threaten education
Kwale County Director of Youth Affairs Kent Simiyu said the initiative would strengthen awareness efforts against gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful practices that interfere with children’s education. His title as County Director of Youth Affairs is independently confirmed.
Simiyu said Kwale continues to record high cases of teenage pregnancies and forced child marriages, which can force learners out of school and limit their future opportunities.
He said the film would help communities question cultural practices that undermine girls’ rights and their access to education.
“Some members of the community are still attached to old cultural practices, including the belief that once a girl reaches adolescence, she should be married. The film seeks to challenge and reverse such beliefs,” he said.
Simiyu urged stakeholders, parents and community leaders to work together to protect children from abuse and ensure they remain in school and have access to opportunities that can help them realise their potential.
Kwale’s own child-protection policy cites teenage pregnancy as a continuing concern, with the 2022 KDHS showing 14.8 per cent of girls and young women aged 15–19 in the county had ever been pregnant.
Parents urged to protect children
Samba Sports Youth Trust CEO Mohamed Mwachausa said the initiative would encourage parents, community leaders and young people to take a greater role in addressing practices that expose children to abuse, early pregnancies and school dropout.
Mwachausa said neglect and poverty had left some children, particularly girls, vulnerable to early marriages, teenage pregnancies and drug abuse.
He said creative arts could help change community attitudes towards the girl child while encouraging parents to take greater responsibility for supporting their children’s education.
“The film calls for urgency among stakeholders to ensure our children are well protected, supported and catered for,” he said.
Mwachausa is publicly identified as the Executive Director/CEO of Sambasports Youth Trust in recent reporting.
Kwale County Chiefs’ chairperson Abdallah Kama said Lunga-Lunga remains one of the areas most affected by teenage pregnancies and early marriages, with cases reported regularly.
Kama attributed the situation to environmental and socioeconomic factors that continue to expose children to abuse and exploitation.
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“Neglect and high levels of poverty are pushing children to the ocean to engage in fishing activities, where they become vulnerable to sexual predators and recruitment into other harmful activities,” he said.
By Shaban Omar
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Dada Mkubwa programmes coordinator Abigael Ndizi speaks during the launch of the Amka Nawi film at Kibaoni in Lunga-Lunga, Kwale County. The film seeks to raise awareness about teenage pregnancies, child marriages and school dropout. Photo: Shaban Omar.
