WINDHOEK
The newly established youth organisation, Monica Gender Violence Solution (MGVS), will be visiting Dr Hage Geingob Secondary School in Freedom Land, Katutura on Friday, to talk to Grade 10 and 12 learners about the dangers of early and unwanted pregnancy.
The MGVS, which counsels and dissuades especially young women who fall pregnant from undergoing abortions will join the Women’s Action for Development (WAD), the Office of the First Lady and constituency councillors to hold a motivational youth initiative for learners at the school, as from 14h00.
“The programme will have esteemed, experienced representatives from various organisations speak to the learners, so as to have them take their studies seriously and be responsible ladies after school, instead of falling pregnant and becoming dependent on the opposite sex,” says the secretary of MGVS, Petronela Namushinga, adding that this is a way of protecting learners from the dangers of gender violence.
The report on School Drop-Outs and Out-Of-School Children in Namibia: A National Review, released recently by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, identifies learner pregnancy as among the key factors responsible for dropping out of school and out-of-school children in Namibia.
“Learner motherhood is another serious issue affecting school participation. The issue of learner pregnancy has been a source of some concern for the Namibian government in recent years,” the report points out.
The report recommends that further attention be given “to ensure that the official pregnancy policies are implemented and, perhaps more importantly, supported by teachers and education officials.”
The report notes that currently this policy is being blamed by many for “creating” the learner pregnancy problem in schools, and prejudice makes it difficult for girls who have become pregnant to return to school, or if they do, to be fully accepted.
MGVS also helps with the implementation of projects and activities aimed at educating communities about relevant social issues, such as human rights, as well as teaching them to refrain from criminal and violent activities.
MGVS was initiated in March by 23-year-old Ipinge Shaanika Nashilongo, who tragically lost his mother at the hands of his father in 1997.