In 2016, 458 reported cases of teenage pregnancy were recorded in the Atwima Kwanwoma district of Ghana alone. Inhabitants, however, mentioned that the situation is worse than what the statistics say.
Peter Gyamfi, a 21-year-old who hails from Trabuom, a farming community in the Atwima Kwanwoma district of the Ashanti Region, shares his story with Hope for Future Generations.Peter dropped out of Senior High School and now depends on his parents for his livelihood. His dream is to become a soldier. Peter better describes his goal:
In the next five years, I wish to become a soldier. That is my goal but I have lost courage because I don’t have any certificate to take me there so I need help.
Peter was selected and trained as a Peer Educator in the UKAid-supported Ghana Adolescent Reproductive Health (GHARH) project through a community health nurse. As part of the selection criteria, HFFG requested that adolescents who were respected within their community and among their peers be included. Unfortunately, Peter had garnered reputation because his girlfriend was pregnant and he had become the talk of the town. However, after the peer educators’ training, he resolved to use his experience to encourage peers to learn from his predicament by abstaining from sex or engaging in safe sex practices.
Due to Peter’s commitment and passion to contribute to reducing teenage pregnancy in his community, he was also trained to be an advocate under the project. After the training, he became a member of the Atwima Kwanwoma District Project Management Committee. As an advocate, Peter engaged in decision-making processes at this level and became an active agent of change in his community.
According to Peter, being given the opportunity to be a peer educator and an advocate has really impacted his life positively. It is an opportunity he never thought he could have due to his economic situation and his current state as a teenage father. He has promised to contribute his quota to his community’s development through a continuous engagement with community leaders. This is a link that HFFG helped him to establish. Through this connection, Peter will use his new capacity to empower his peers with accurate sexual and reproductive health information. Peter also received skills training in beads making and rabbit rearing through the ‘Boys Time’ activity under the project. He continues to feel empowered economically to be able to cater for himself and his family.