PLANNING A LIFE, NOT JUST A FAMILY
By Yonatan Tamiru, Communication Advisor, Tesfaye Solomon, MNCH Project Officer, PSI Ethiopia “We were young, we had nothing. If I had gotten pregnant then, I don’t know where we would be today.” That is how Alfia Abadir describes the early years of her marriage, not with regret, but with the quiet honesty of someone who […]
MESERET’S JOURNEY OF CHOICE
At 18, Meseret Shafa’s life took a turn she did not choose. Just as she was preparing for her Grade 12 national exams, financial pressure and deeply rooted social expectations forced her into marriage. Her education stopped overnight. Soon after, she became the mother of two daughters. For Meseret, the future she had imagined, finishing […]
From Herbs to Maternal Healthcare: Zulfatu’s Journey
Married at 15, 17-year-old Zulfatu Yahaya from Jigawa State has had three miscarriages. This is because she believes in traditional healing, herbs and roots. “I didn’t believe in Western medicine or clinics.” She was in hospital at the time of writing this article; seven months pregnant, another pregnancy gone wrong. This particular one started at […]
I WANT TO BE A SENIOR PLUMBER
Whenever Sada* talks to young girls her age or younger, they are most fascinated by the fact that she wants to be a plumber. Because “girls don’t do such jobs,” they tell her. She is adamant and averse to the idea that people should be “chosen for jobs that they should or shouldn’t do.” She […]
MY LESSON IN PREGNANCY; ANTENATAL CLINICS ARE IMPORTANT!
17-year-old Maimuna Salihu is pregnant. This isn’t an isolated occurrence in Andaza, Jigawa State, Northwest of Nigeria. What might be uncommon is how she is feeling. She’s often sick; she has difficulty breathing, dizziness, lethargy, and general malice. She sometimes vomits, loses her appetite, and spends her days either sleeping or thinking about sleep. “These […]
I LEARNED HOW TO DO BUSINESS
My name is Hana Markos, and I’m 19 years old. I’m a member of Kemisie’s VSLA at Teza Gereba Kebele in Kedida Gamela District, Central Ethiopia. Having dropped out in Grade 10 and immediately got married, I never finished school because I thought it would be easier to be a wife than a student. I […]
REBUILDING HARMONY: ZUWAIRA ABDULLAHI’S JOURNEY WITH A360 LFH SESSIONS
Once upon a time in the quiet community of Rugan Kasuwa, nestled within the Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa state Nigeria lived 18-year-old Zuwaira Abdullahi. A young bride married to Mr. Isa, a diligent farmer, Zuwaira found herself facing unexpected challenges mere months into her marriage. The source of her distress wasn’t external but […]
I CONVINCED MY CONSERVATIVE HUSBAND TO ATTEND ANTENATAL SESSIONS
Zainab Abdullahi’s husband wasn’t the open-minded type. He was not much older than Zainab, who was eighteen years old and five months pregnant. In their community, the Ringim Local Government Area, Jigawa state, teenage brides aren’t a novelty. They were not in the habit of conversing except when asking for money for medical expenses. One […]