Teenage Pregnancy and Girls’ Education in Uganda
Location:
Jinja, Uganda
Art Medium:
Mural and Skit
Partner:
TRIUMPH Mental Health Support
Artist:
Allan Kyakonye
The Challenge
In Jinja, Uganda, girls from the Sauti ya Dada (SYD) Club interviewed 26 community members, including security guards, market vendors, and farmers, to understand the biggest barriers to girls’ education in their community. They found that teen pregnancy and early marriage are the leading causes of school dropout, cutting short girls’ education and limiting their future opportunities.
The Action
In response, the SYD girls created a mural and a skit to raise awareness of the importance of keeping girls in school. They presented them during a school assembly and a parents’ meeting attended by around 200 people. Their work sparked community-wide dialogue. Parents pledged to support their daughters’ education, and local leaders committed to mentorship and monitoring efforts. The campaign helped shift perceptions, reinforcing that girls’ education is essential for the entire community.
The Impact
Across the school ecosystem, students and teachers are having open conversations about teen pregnancy and its impact on girls’ education and are taking action. For example:
• The community education officer is talking about the girls' project to figure out how to reduce teenage pregnancies, especially among girls with disabilities.
• The mural is sparking conversations among the students in the school, and the deputy headteacher is creating space for the SYD girls to speak to other girls about it during the school assemblies.
• One SYD participant shared that she's able to stand up to peer pressure on getting into relationships and is actively avoiding relationships that will lead to teenage pregnancies.
Girls are also actively advocating for girls to stay in school and return to school. The SYD mentor reported that girls who had wanted to drop out of school made a choice to stay. One SYD participant successfully convinced her older sister, who had become pregnant, to return to school.
Photo Gallery
