Reading this article in the New vision, “half of the maternal deaths in Africa are due to abortion” actually made me feel awful about this act. The article went a head to state that 54% of all maternal death in Africa (Uganda included) is due to unsafe abortions. Abortion is something that happens in our society but people fear to come out and speak about it. Abortion has claimed very many lives of innocent children and even their mothers and is still a disaster in Uganda. What amuses me is that people believe that a child who is not born is not a human being. Worse still, the laws do not protect these children. At comforters center, we believe that every child born or unborn is a human being in the eyes of God. We believe that life begins at conception and children needs to be protected no matter the environment where they live. People have come up with different ideas to promote abortion in Uganda.
Recently, we received a client who came for a pregnancy test. After the test, she found out that she was pregnant. The lady became distressed after the test because this lady has a child who less than a year. So after the test, she felt so bad. She even told the counselor who attended to her that she was going to abort that baby because she cannot manage to take care of two babies. But through counseling, this lady changed her mind and decided to carry her pregnancy. But the question is, should a person terminate the life of her child just because she has another child? At comforter’s center we believe that each child is a blessing and God gives you a child for a purpose. So whether you have ten children or more it should not justify abortion.
Women have been confessing to us that their husbands are forcing them to have abortion because they fear their responsibilities. They do not know what happens when a woman carries out an abortion. They even do not know the procedures these ladies go through and their effects. We have heard cases of women who die of abortion due over breeding but this has not stopped them carrying out abortions. This is a reason why the comforter’s center wishes to carry out outreaches to makes sure the life of the unborn child is protected.
Despite our efforts and government’s effort to sensitize the youth about sexual abstinence, teenagers are still being sexually active at an early age. To some girls, this is not due to their own making but because of immoral men who have made their lives unhappy. You might think that girls go out with men because they like it but to some girls it is the other way round. Studies have shown that some girls in Uganda are sexually active due to rape, incest and unwanted sexual experiences.
The comforter’s center international has been carrying out sexual abstinence with the aim of sharing the message of sexual abstinence among teenagers. With this program, we have been interacting with the youth as our target group. But from what is on the ground, the message of sexual abstinence needs to be shared among even the parents, teachers and everyone in the society. Girls below the age of 15 have been forced by men who are even ten years older than them. This is really a shameful act. People who would be protecting these children are now becoming a threat to them.
Recently in the newspapers, there was an article which stated that “Defilers removed on the payroll”. The writer was referring to one of the districts in Uganda (Kasese) where teachers are taking advantage of innocent children and sleeping with them. These teachers usually send these girls to take items to their places like books for marking and they follow them and force them to sleep with them. This incidence happened in Kasese but this is the act that is happening in all the districts of Uganda. Children are raped, made pregnant and at the end of the day, the culprit is left free. Teachers are people believed to be the role models but they bend themselves very low and sleep with young children. In Uganda, we all know that defilement is a crime and is charged in the courts of law. But what is done to these shameless teachers and men who defile these young girls? Will removing them from the payroll solve the problem of defilement? What else can be done?
