Economic hardships, school closures, and loss of parental care as a result of COVID have increased children’s risk of sexual exploitation which has led to a spike in teenage pregnancies. We are calling upon parents and guardians to watch after their children so that they do not fall victim to this cruelty. Let’s not shy from educating our children accordingly because a lack of proper knowledge is a major contribution to sexual exploitation and teenage pregnancies.

Teenagers who are uneducated about sex are more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. Some teens do not fully understand the biological and emotional aspects associated with having sex. These teens may get incorrect information from friends, videos, and/or movies. Many times, teens do not have the knowledge needed to make informed and responsible decisions about whether or not to engage in sexual activity and the consequences thereafter. That’s why for the last one month we have had Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) sessions with our high school students but your engagement as parents/guardians highly matters.

COVID 19 is also resulting in an increase in online child sexual exploitation. As schools have shut down, children are spending more time online which increases the chances of accessing inappropriate content or being sexually exploited if not well monitored. These children might be tempted to experiment on things they‘ve seen on the internet or movies.

SEX is NOT a TABOO, let’s EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN so that they can MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.

Below is Kenya childline to report any cases of children exploitation or abuse:

Childline Kenya

Call 1 1 6

Whatsapp: +254 722 116 116

Email: [email protected]

Students who are thrilled to do their homework every single day are rare… if there are any. Everyone needs a motivational push now and then, and you will be surprised what inspiration can do with your opinion about “pointless” homework assignments.

Even if you don’t see the point in doing homework, you still see a point in getting good grades, so read these tips and learn how to become a more motivated student.

1. Change your perspective

You cannot form a foundation for your future knowledge and skills without doing homework, no matter how pointless it seems. Even topics that don’t awaken a single spark of interest are important for your general knowledge and development as a person.

2. Become an “expert” in one area

There isn’t a student who loves all subjects. All you need to do is focus a bit more on the area you love and get some serious attitude about it. Maybe you can start a blog associated to the area you love and become a self-appointed expert in it. Research deeper, become more involved and enjoy your devotion to the things that interest you.

However, this shouldn’t drive you away from all other homework you get; in fact, it should help you become more tolerant of the topics that don’t interest you that much. Think of the less favored topics as “supporting bricks” for your career path.

3. Don’t be afraid of competition

You don’t have to tame your competitive spirit. In fact, it can help you be a more diligent student and have fun while doing homework and making better achievements than anyone else in class.

Being competitive doesn’t mean that you have to become the classmate no one likes. You can team up with one or two friends and inspire each other to do better in all subjects. Healthy competition can be a very inspiring motivation if you know how to approach it.

4. A prize can be motivating

If a big science project is giving you trouble and you can’t even get motivated enough to start it, you should make a plan and divide the entire process into few smaller steps. Take each step and turn it into a goal, having the big picture in front of you at all times.

Make sure to set deadlines for each step and reward yourself with small treats or breaks after every achievement. When you focus on the prize, you will be motivated to do everything right.

5. Get support to get motivated

If you are not getting enough encouragement from your family or friends, that shouldn’t discourage you because it doesn’t mean that no one cares.

Your teacher, for example, surely cares whether or not you do your homework and study well. Teachers are always there to support their students, because their success as educators depends on the achievements of the class.

If you feel like you don’t get enough support in your home or from your friends, you can join an education forum and find the motivation you need. Many people will cheer for you if you are brave enough to cheer for yourself.

Conclusion: Motivation is crucial for your academic success

This is common for all students: they don’t see how the knowledge they gain in the classroom is implementable in the real world, so they see homework as a pointless task with a single aim to cause them stress, consume their free time and exercise their brain cells. If that’s your attitude towards homework, it is completely wrong!

All you need is a different perspective on your studies and you will understand how important they are. When you learn how to motivate yourself, the homework will immediately become important and meaningful in your eyes.

While schools still remain closed, we’re trying our best to make sure our students still access online studies especially our post-secondary (PS) students. We’re doing so by setting up space in our computer lab for them to carry on with their studies. This activity is conducted by observing all the ministry of health guidelines and regulations to curb the spread of Covid-19. Even though the majority of our PS students have laptops acquired through the organization’s computer loaner program, internet connection still remains a challenge. Come September, in case the number of students having online classes increase the computer lab access might be a problem since it can only accommodate a few students. The program is trying to work out on how to secure more laptops for students to borrow and provide internet access for them so that they can study at home.

The program is also thinking of a way our secondary students can access online studies and resources that schools are sharing with them. Majority of secondary students don’t have gadgets that they can use to access this content so they end up missing a lot. Considering their backgrounds, it’s also very difficult for their parents/guardians to have smartphones that their children can use for online studying. For our primary students, they can get study materials and exams question papers from their respective schools through their parents to keep them engaged during this period. Literature books are still being issued to students through their parents during food aid issuance days. The library reading area has been used for storing food aid in the meantime.

Also, due to an increase in teenage and unplanned pregnancies in Kenya during this period, SRH talks have been conducted through Whatsapp for post-secondary and secondary students with online access. We’re also sending weekly messages to parents and students reminding them to keep safe and protect their children from unplanned pregnancies by educating them.

Stay safe.

Each and every year we issue a new pair of school shoes to our Primary and Secondary students. The program has a yearly budget to support this cause. Since COVID-19 started, we have been trying to cut down costs and preserve our resources and Bata has contributed towards this cause by donating to us school shoes for over two hundred primary and secondary students. This means our shoe budget has been cut down by over half.

On top of the primary and secondary school shoes, Bata has also donated shoes to be issued to our post-secondary students. These are our students in Universities, Colleges and trade schools. Thank you Bata for this kind donation.

Be part of this cause by donating to help a child. Visit our website to see more https://nrcfkenya.org/donation/

Since our students cannot access our library to read and borrow books, we have incorporated book issuance in our food aid distribution that happens for three days every week. Caseworker contacts their students during their check-in phones calls and enquires of any book the students’ needs from the library. The book can be a storybook or a school book. The caseworker forwards the requests to the librarian who comes to the office to sort the books. Once the books are in order she hands over a list containing students’ names and the books they requested. The response team issues the book to the student or the parent when they come to pick their food aid and reminds them to return the books in two weeks’ time when they come to pick another food aid. The books are quarantined for one week before being re-issued to other students.

The program is trying in all ways to ensure the students continue with their studies. Students with assignment or exam papers they need to be printed they forward them to the ICT Department through WhatsApp or email. The ICT department prints the assignments and exam papers and informs the respective caseworkers to organize the students to come and pick the papers.

We also share study resources through our social media and websites for our students. Our students’ portal is also adequately equipped with study resources to keep our students busy.