Good Hope has always positioned itself as a center that provides teenagers with a second chance to education. While our main program supports students who finished primary school and had no access to secondary school for a variety of reasons, our Team saw another issue arising in our community.
Specifically, we were concerned with the issue of pregnant teenagers being forced out of school immediately. This happens even if the teen’s pregnancy is discovered right before the final examinations of middle school (Form 4), which often leads to great distress with her parents or guardians and paves the road to a marginalized life for her and her child(ren).The Good Hope program is unique in Moshi, as we are the only stepping stone centre of its kind that provides a second chance for students with school sponsorships up to vocational training and/or university education. Alongside this program, Good Hope is now launching another crucial program that provides a second chance to education for teenage mothers: The Mabinti Project.
Mabinti means “daughters” in Kiswahili. By choosing this name, we want to both appreciate that teenage mothers are still our children and not adult mothers as some people proclaim, and also express our sincerest love and support for the children and teenagers in our community. No one should be left behind, and everyone is deserving of care, love, education, and respect.
In our preliminary study about teenage mothers in Moshi, we discovered that many, but not all of them, wish to finish middle school. As we are currently still developing our full program, we have started working with those young women, who wished to pursue a practical training in tailoring. We are so proud to show you the first pictures of our sewing class that is led by Teacher Mussa!
At first, our Mabinti are learning how to make cotton face masks for our students and staff, and will soon learn how to make high quality washable sanitary pads. Under the motto “RED IS GOOD!” our program manager Sarah and her Team are fighting the stigma around menstruation and raising awareness about the important role that good menstrual hygiene plays in enabling our young women and girls to reach their full potential in school and in life in general. This way, Good Hope serves three purposes: 1. Provides teenage mothers with further education and a way to generate income; 2. Increases Good Hope’s position as a health-promoting school; and 3. Encourages and empowers young women in our community, which in turn strengthens us all.