Sironko teenage mothers receive tailoring machines from Mafabi Asha Foundation

27 May 2024, 9:18 am

By Shadrach Bethel Afayo

In a bid to empower the girl child and end teenage pregnancies in Sironko district, the Mafabi Asha Foundation has donated over 30 tailoring machines to facilitate imparting skills to the youth, enabling them to become self-sustainable.

This initiative also aims to empower boys and unemployed youth within the district.

Speaking on Saturday at a function organized to hand over the equipment to the local leadership, the director of the foundation, Ms. Mafabi Asha Nabulo, pleaded with parents of teenage mothers not to be harsh on their daughters for past mistakes but rather encourage them to pick themselves up and take advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

She noted that Sironko district has a total of 38,000 recorded teenage pregnancies and ranks third in defilement cases in Uganda, highlighting the need for such initiatives within society to empower young people and keep them engaged.

Mafabi urged the youth and leaders to work hand in hand and be organized to benefit from the many government programs in place. “I want you to be organized, which makes it easier for me to plan and lobby for you, so we can develop together. You young people should embrace existing government programs to uplift your living standards. The money is there in the Uganda Development Bank. It’s yours, but you need to be organized so we can lobby for it,” said Mafabi.

Local leaders and other stakeholders in Sironko thanked Mafabi for her generous contribution to the community and vowed to continue supporting other initiatives she will come up with in the district.

However, they urged her and other leaders not to forsake the boy child in the bid to empower the girl child, as this will create an imbalance in society.