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kiki
kiki
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I'm a world Changer. I believe in dreams , purpose and the future. I believe in CHANGE!

by: kiki
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 1:17:00 AM EST
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As we commemorate International Women’s Day with the theme “Equal rights, Equal opportunities; Progress for all”, we must bring to the forefront the challenges surrounding education of the girl-child, which remains a vital component for development in our society. 

Imagine your life today without an education. Imagine you in a world where you don’t have the right to go to school, not even a choice to consider education. What you see is the experience of so many females living in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region, in which lies Jega Local Government. A lot of girls in this region didn’t have the right to choose education until the Local government chairman in Kebbi State enacted a bye-law, making female education compulsory. Isn’t that great news? After so many years of living in ignorance! 

Reports show that in a school of 150 students, only 2-3 are girls. ActionAID International (AAIN) discovered in their research that there was gap in favor of boys in school enrollment, retention and completion in these states. "The study on girls’ education revealed factors affecting girls’ education as cost of education, school environment, government policies and the culture of the people amongst others. There are no policies that specifically address gender issues thereby leaving room for the gender gap."

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by: kiki
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 3:34:00 AM EST
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The Youth Advocates Group in Nigeria had her first Campus organizing activity at the University of Abuja and it was a success. The theme of the event was on Stigmatization and there were over 250 students present. It was particularly interesting because Stigma and discrimination has been a major challenge for young people who are HIV positive and seeking an admission into the University. Quite a number of students have been denied admission based on their HIV status. So is the story of Gloria whom I met sometime late last year. She has been HIV positive for the past 9 years through unscreened blood transfusion and has faced all types of stigmatization; the worst I consider, is from her own mother, even till date. As the students watched a short footage on Gloria’s story and the challenges she grew up with, they couldn’t help but make comments and ask questions. It was interesting to know that some of them could feel her pain even though they hadn’t been in her shoes.

As I held the microphone to further explain Gloria’s story, to help them understand what stigmatization really is and how much damage it can do; I asked, Should Stigmatization be justified? Should anyone be treated differently because of their HIV status? Should students be denied admission into the University because they tested positive to HIV? In fact, what has that got to do with academic performance? What reason does a mother have to stigmatize her own very offspring?

Almost everyone agreed stigma is wrong and that it has no justification in all ramifications. However, there was this very student who said stigma can be justified and I asked how? He said that, denying a student of admission into the University for instance is for the benefit of other students. That because young people in the University engage in sexual activities, the HIV positive students can easily infect others. Just as I was about to respond to that, another student responded to that comment by explaining clearly, how that has nothing to do with denying someone a chance for a bright future, an education and liberty to express one’s self. Every other student supported as they cheered and clapped for her.

The Youth Advocates Group later informed the student about the Anti-Stigmatization bill currently at the National Assembly waiting to be passed into law and how important it is for them as young people to support that by putting down their signature on a sign on letter that will be taking to the House Committee on HIV/AIDS. The responses we got were amazing.

In all, they left with an experience. The experience of making their voice count and understanding that Stigmatization isn’t a choice, not even an option.


by: kiki
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 3:27:00 AM EST
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As a peer educator or someone working on SRH issues, have you ever thought about what you would do if you were told you have AIDS? Or you were told someone very close to you got infected somehow, will you blame yourself? Will you live in denial of the reality of your new found status? And for that person close to you, will you show them all the love and care? Will you? All these questions bring me to the story of a young lady that I know. She was actively involved in HIV/AIDS awareness and campaign. She was a trained peer educator who trained over 2,000 youth and tested people for HIV/AIDS. She was also a counselor on the hotline, educating people on Sexual Reproductive Health issues and stuff.

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by: kiki
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 5:26:00 AM EST
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Guys, it’s one thing when you are being harassed as a child, either sexually or physically because you are a child and you can’t stand up for yourself. However, it is another thing when as an adult - I mean above 18 - you are being sexually harassed, but you can’t stand up for yourself.
This reminds me of an unpleasant incident I experienced recently. I was walking on the road side by the market and it was quite rowdy as many people were trooping into the market. I wasn’t going into the market so I was walking against the flow of traffic. Then I saw this man, he wasn’t dressed neatly and he looked like a lunatic, but I just could not conclude my thoughts on him as to whether he was actually a lunatic or just one of those boys who help people carry their load in and out of the market. They often look rough and dirty just like this man.
As I walked passed him, I saw a man’s penis. In my mind, I thought it was my imagination or just a joke or something, because I didn’t want to believe that I saw a penis in the middle of the road by the market. So I looked back at the man, wanting to confirm whether I had seen correctly or whether it was just my imagination. Again, as I turned, he was still holding his penis, flashing it at me with a grin on his face. At that point, I was totally disgusted. I wish everyone around me had seen it too.
A few minutes later, the same man walked past me. In my mind again I thought, ‘didn’t I just walk past this man? He should have gone by now.’ Apparently, he had been following me. I stopped and faced him; he also stopped, staring at me and at the same time flashing his dick at me. I was the only one who saw him and it was beginning to scare me. Then I yelled at him saying “hey, what do you want from me? Can you please leave this place?” Immediately he started yelling at me, calling me names and telling me I wanted him badly and that’s why I stopped. I was so scared, I felt like my heart was going to come out of my mouth. At this point, everyone started staring and it was quite embarrassing.
While he was saying all that crap, I stood behind a stranger, asking him to save me from this mad man. So the stranger yelled at him and told him to leave me alone. That action gave me the courage to also stand up for myself and ‘holla back’. As I did, he stepped back and walked away.
Did I do the right thing by hollering back? I understand that it might just be safer to keep quiet and walk away, depending on the situation. So the next time you are being harassed by a stranger or whoever, what would you do?
Sharing this experience with some folks around, sprung up into an argument that got me thinking about the difference between sexual behavior and sexual harassment. Is it really about what the person does, or is it about how they make you feel? How would you define it?


by: kiki
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:53:00 AM EST
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The World AIDS Day celebrations were quite dramatic here in Abuja, Nigeria. While everyone was in the Conference room at the Yaradua Centre in Abuja listening to presentations from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Director General, the Chairman House Committee on HIV/AIDS, the Senate Committee Chair on Health and other relevant stakeholders and groups, a horde of people arrived, wailing and screaming at the tops of their voices and carrying a coffin with the name of the Director General (NACA). It was the PLWHAs, People Living With HIV/AIDS. They looked so fierce and scary. They had placards saying different things such as “Who holds HIV/AIDS funds?”, “NO PLWHAs, NO NACA” and “Where is the Meaningful Involvement?”. It was almost as if they had come to bring down the building.
Their campaign was against the DG. I had a brief interview with one of the men and he complained bitterly how there has been no meaningful involvement of PLWHAs in the activities of NACA. He explained how the PLWHAs were not even involved in any pre-meeting or planning of this year’s World AIDS Day, even though they have been in previous years. He exclaimed that it was a ploy for the DG to mismanage funds. He said they have been marginalized and ignored. Their demonstration was very aggressive.
 With no offence to PLWHAs, I think that was way overboard. In my opinion, everybody who participated in that campaign came for their own PERSONAL benefit. I noticed there was no proper representation in terms of diversity (different social strata, states, age groups, etc); they were all adults, and quite a number of them didn’t even know why they were there. It was almost as if they had hired some people to join them in the campaign. But where were the young people? If young people are the most infected, shouldn’t there have been more in the demonstration? I think the PLWHAs should have done better in coordinating themselves and ensuring that the real people that are being infected and most affected were properly represented.
On the other hand, the Director General (NACA) should have involved the PLWHAs in the planning, as is normally done every year. World AIDS Day is usually commemorated at an open public square where everyone and anyone can easily participate, but this year’s was done in a small confined location that could barely contain half the participants. There weren’t enough seats, conference materials were limited and the whole arrangement was just a bad idea.
Considering the fact that this year’s World AIDS Day theme is Universal Access and Human Rights, I’m sorry to say it’s so ironic that the reverse is the case. The PLWHAs were not allowed to enter the hall unless they conformed, which they weren’t willing to do.
After much talk, the DG came out to address them. However, I believe that our leaders really need to think and rethink about these things. Who exactly do they think they are fooling? PLWHAs have rights, they deserve to be respected and the responsibility to plan and celebrate their day should be given to them without bias.
 


by: kiki
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:49:00 AM EST
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In Nigeria, the virus has been on the loose since 1986. It has taken the lives of many innocent people. It’s called Human Immune Deficiency Virus that has the ability to grow into Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (HIV/AIDS).  What a name!
Globally, half of the world’s HIV/AIDS infected people are women and children with 6,800 new HIV infections occurring each day. Nigeria ranks second in terms of the actual number of people infected with HIV after India.  In Nigeria, young people constitute over 33.6% (47 million) of the Nigerian population and over 60% of HIV infected people.
 
So far, a lot has been done to tackle the issue, but much still needs to be done in incorporating young people, because we are most affected. Only 57% of young people in 2005 knew all the transmission routes for HIV. 22.50 % of young women and men age 15- 24 both correctly identified ways of sexual transmission infection and HIV and also knew the major misconceptions about mode of transmission. Only 27% of 16-24 year-old single and sexually active teen women reported using a modern contraception. This is caused by limited access to effective youth reproductive health education programmes and inadequate youth-friendly services in Nigeria.
 
Many programmes have been put in place by the government and private sector to fight the virus. However, new prevention strategies are desperately needed to help reduce the prevalence rate. It was in view of this that in 1988 the World Health Organization established every 1st of December to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic and encouraging discussions about the virus.
 
Although the prevalence rates appear low at 4.6%, the theme for this year’s World AIDs Day, “Universal Access and Human Rights”, couldn’t have come at a better time in the history of our great country. The most populated black race in the world is a signatory to the UNGASS Declaration to universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and in line with these it will be of great importance for us to reflect on the government’s effort on young people’s reproductive health, especially HIV/AIDS, 8 years after the declaration and 23 years  after the discovery of the virus in Nigeria. 
 
What does the future hold?


by: kiki
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:40:00 AM EST
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As part of our activities for World AIDS Day, the Youth Advocates Group was at the university community in  Gwagwalada, Abuja, with some youth groups from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and other stakeholders to sensitize the general public on HIV/AIDS and distribute condoms and stickers.
It was so much fun. I got different responses from people. Some people were so glad, especially the guys, since most of them were on their way home for the Sallah break. Some other guys asked me to give myself for the condom sampling! Some were even trying to take extras to hoard.
While I was distributing the condoms, this elderly woman called me over and said “why are you distributing condoms? Don’t you know that it will encourage people to commit sin?” There were other young people around who supported her statement. I was going to give it back to her HOT, but I decided not to. Then I explained to her that distributing condoms isn’t about encouraging anybody to have sex, but giving them a choice to protect themselves, because whether we admit it or not, people engage in different kinds of sexual activities.
It is amazing to me that with the rate at which people are getting infected with STI’s and HIV, some people still think that giving condoms to people to protect themselves is a sin.
Oh Nigerians, wake up! The youths are slipping away. The ones you call the leaders of tomorrow, the future of today. Imagine if every young Nigerian engaged in sexual activity without protection… I’ll leave you with the result of your imagination.
We all need to wake up. Condoms are not to encourage sexual activities, but if at any time we choose to “enter d place”, enter with a condom. Food for thought.
 


by: kiki
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 6:39:00 AM EST
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The enactment of the Anti-Stigmatization Bill in Nigeria is something that the whole community of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), people affected by HIV/AIDS and other relevant stakeholders have looked forward to. It’s gone back and forth in the National Assembly, been reviewed a number of times, edited and scrutinized in great detail. Again, it has been brought to the table for review. But, is it going to be passed this time, or is it just a ploy to raise hopes? Even if it is enacted, will it give power to the marginalized, the people at the grass-roots level?
On the 24th of November, the Joint Committee on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, and Human Rights conducted a public hearing on the Anti-Stigmatization Bill at the National Assembly, which the Youth Advocates Group was privileged to attend. We were the only youth group represented at the hearing and we also had the opportunity to present a memorandum on young people’s position.
There were actually two bills merged into one and based on that, we were able to identify some things that didn’t look quite right. The bill placed so much emphasis and focus on Stigmatization in the Workplace. However, the highest percentage of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are young people who are unemployed. Shouldn’t we be looking at stigmatization in educational institutions? In Nigeria, some young people have been denied admission because of their HIV status. In fact, in some universities, showing your HIV test results is a prerequisite for gaining admission.
Young people are highly at risk and I believe they should be protected. Imagine the pain of being told you can’t study in university because you are HIV positive. It is heart-breaking. Being positive doesn’t reduce an individual’s capacity or ability to excel academically, yet these are standards some educational institutions have set. Meanwhile, the National University Commission (NUC) presented a memo saying that they have placed a law against the act of denying students admission if they are HIV positive, but do they monitor these universities? If the NUC isn’t in the universities to make sure these things don’t happen, then they might as well not exist.
In as much as the Anti-Stigmatization bill is a legal document that should meet the needs of every individual in any social organization irrespective of class, status, age or social role, I believe there should be more emphasis on youths.

 
On the other hand, what are the possibilities that if this bill is passed into law, the average Nigerian or the common man will be able to enjoy its benefits? Most people, especially at the grass roots level, don’t even have a clue of what is happening; illiteracy is a major challenge. How do we make sure these people are protected by the law?
In my own opinion, even when the bill is passed, there is still so much that still needs to be done. The fight against stigmatization in Nigeria is not necessarily in the passing of the bill rather than in its ability to reach and protect those who are truly vulnerable.
 


by: kiki
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 4:43:00 AM EST
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This entry is a part of our World AIDS Day Blogathon.  During this week we share our experiences, stories, and ideas about how HIV affects young people around the world. Join the blogathon .

The other day I was at the University of Abuja with my team to give out stickers for publicity. It was one of the ways we thought we could get more young people aware and involved in the work we are doing. In the course of this, I had to explain why it was important for them to blog, share their stories and actively participate in making their voices heard.

I talked about ASRH issues that young people face such as HIV/AIDS, Abortion, STD, Early Marriage and so on. They were so enthusiastic to learn more as they all kept asking me questions about these challenges and what we are doing to address them. I also told them about how we advocate for young people to policy makers and how much success we’ve had so far.

Some issues a lot of them raised were on contraceptives. Over 90% of the females had never seen a female condom before not to talk of having access to it. Though most of the guys said they had seen it and they were even describing how it looks to the ladies. It was hilarious! A young girl stood up and said “if my boyfriend refuses to use a condom, I should have the liberty to use a female condom that is affordable and accessible.” This makes a lot of sense but how can women stand up for themselves when it comes to having protected sex? According to the United Nations agency, one in five deaths among women in this age group (15-44) are linked to unsafe sex throughout the world.

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by: kiki
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 11:38:00 AM EST
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A large percentage of young people in Nigeria attend Federal and State schools, some don’t even go to school and very few attend private universities. Right now the Academic Staff University Union (ASUU) has an issue with the Federal Government and has closed down all universities in Nigeria because government won’t accede to their request. ASUU wants a 100% increment in salaries and other entitlement. For this reason, young people are forced out of school because there is an issue with ASUU and the Federal Government.

 Nigerian students yearn for good education. We yearn to go back to school and stop being a nuisance at home and in the society. We yearn to go back to school because an idle mind is the devils workshop. We don’t want to be tempted to go into drugs, violence, and sexual immorality. We yearn to go back to school because there is a huge future ahead of us waiting for us to happen.  We want Education.

The sad thing is that a number of these government officials without calling names don’t put their children in Nigerian Universities. Its humiliating for young people to look up to the so called leaders  who can effect a change in their situation do nothing because they are not affected in any way, after all their kids are schooling abroad. Another trend in the political scene is that, some of these government officials put their kids in power or even make their kids replace them and family relatives such that the seat of power now becomes a family affair.

The future of young people in Nigeria is in serious jeopardy and if nobody does something, Nigeria will raise worse leaders than it has now. The social organization will become a breed of ignoramus and riffraff’s. In fact, as it is now the rate of social problems occurring currently in Nigeria has young people as the largest victims. Teenage Pregnancy for instance is increasing daily and I wonder, what happens to the children these teenagers give birth to, what kind of training will they get, what kind of life will they live. If young people are having adult issues, what will they do when they become adults? Our government is not aware that such things as strike even worsen the situation.

Sexual Reproductive Health issues that young people face in Nigeria and even globally is as a result of inadequate education to a very large extent. For example, research shows that lack of education, illiteracy or ignorance has been proven to be a cause for an increase in young people’s sexual reproductive health challenges e.g. STI’s, unwanted pregnancy, abortions and so on. Imagine the rate of young people that could be exposed as a result of idleness, caused by this strike.

Education is one of the most important aspect of a young person’s life which they shouldn’t be deprived of. I am a youth and I know what it feels like not to have adequate education and I don’t just speak for myself but for every young person out there who is affected by the strike.

The Nigerian government is being supported by various International donors and NGO’s to curb various issues that young people face in our country but it seems to me that the government has not prioritized education as a primary need thereby not putting arsenals in place to make the educational system run effectively. Also the abuse of power and resources is creating problems through issues like strike and corruption.   Education cuts across all aspect of a young person’s life especially in the area of their sexual and reproductive health but nobody cares. We have good policies, frame work and resources but the reality of all these things seems to elude our leaders.

I consider myself privileged to an extent when I think about young people in prison, on the streets, at home and in Diaspora. Oh great Nigeria! Protect your future, protect the younger generation.


by: kiki
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 11:06:00 AM EST
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Have you ever heard of the 3R's? It's an acronym for Rights, Respect and Responsibility. It's a global thing and should be a local thing. Young people at different levels both local and international are standing up to their responsibilities. They are reaching out to other young people and letting their government know they are initiators of global change, letting their government know that they are part of nation building, letting them know that they have a right and their government is responsible to them. It's a global thing!

Talk is cheap but we've gone beyond that! We already are making waves. We've had several meetings with Policy makers at the International level to make our voices heard, not only to get their commitments but also to share our own experiences. We could have been in the comfort of our homes watching Hollywood channel but we understand what is at stake; the future is.

It's Time for you and I to arise and amplify our voices in the matters affecting young people. Being a Youth is good but I like to be identified as a leader because; the fact that I'm taking responsibility makes me stands out. Youthfulness is a mentality of delayed responsibility and that's why we need to take responsibility; only leaders take responsibility.

Imagine what changes you could influence in your world if you will open your eyes to the needs of young people around you and do something about their challenges. Say something, give something, do something. You might think you are not infected or you are not a victim but the truth is you are at risk. In a nut shell, the world needs you. The world needs you to reach out and impact the world around you. Let's stand and fight for our rights.


by: kiki
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:19:00 AM EDT
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On whose side do you belong?
The other day, I posted a link on face book addressing the issue of the University Strike in Nigeria and guess what someone said. He said we better be careful because in Nigeria “white turns black”. I was infuriated. What a comment! I guess what he meant was anything goes, it’s not a country where leaders are going to support you for standing up for your rights.
It seems to me that so many young people in Nigeria have not a clue about what the future is going to be if nobody stands up and say something. We have watched the government infringe upon the rights of our fathers and our grand fathers. They all struggled to earn a living to give us a good life. They all bottled up their fears in silence because they couldn’t stand up to their leaders in their time. It’s so unfortunate.
As I began to look deeply into this matter I realized that the trend in Nigerian government today is that some of these leaders don’t even have any sense of responsibility and are not accountable to any responsible higher authority. So they oppress everyone that they can, embezzle nation’s resources to send their kids to school abroad and then bring them back home to take their place in power. And the effect of that I see is that if we don’t stand up and speak out, their kids will oppress us and make us struggle to earn a living. We will have to struggle in our own fathers land. God forbid!

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by: kiki
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:16:00 AM EDT
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(the following is from Kikelomo, one of our youth activists in Nigeria)

The Urban Retreat Experience.
 
It was phenomenal! The Urban retreat was an experience, one that will continue to live on in me forever. Having so many young people with a passion, an identity, self worth and value come together at the Urban Retreat was totally awesome. Young people on a mission, young folks who know what it means to be a mother at sixteen, who knows what it feels like to be rejected, who knows what it means to be a prisoner of silence, who knows what it is to be masked by the world. They were all there at the Urban Retreat including myself to unleash the prisoner within, unmask ourselves and dream out loud. It was a gathering of young folks who from their broken experiences have found healing and are now willing to share, reach out and impact. It was a gathering where no one was afraid to express themselves. A miniature of what I will call my dream world!
 
For me, it was a place of reflecting and getting hold of the things that has held me back for so long. I was inspired, motivated, charged, and released to live the life, to live my dreams without fear of rejection, failure, what would people say or think but with passion, gusto and clarity. It was great.
 
Also, having other young people like me come out of their shells without shame or fear to express what they have on their inside was another beautiful thing to experience. I gave a speech at the opening plenary session and it was BOOM! For the first time in my life, I felt like Barrack Obama as I received a standing ovation from everyone, some people had tears in their eyes. It was fulfilling. I could not believe it was me they were all celebrating. Tell me you don’t want to be treated that way!

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by: kiki
Monday, September 7, 2009 at 12:49:00 PM EDT
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The paramount importance of ASRH issues to young people cannot be overemphasized since the youths are the future of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
 
In recent times, the government has made several attempts to put programmes and interventions in place suitable for young people to meet their sexual and reproductive health needs but sustainability, impact in quantity and quality has been a major issue. It’s either there are no funds or there is a change in power or the funds available have not been released.
 
How long shall we continue in this! In Nigeria today, it’s so funny that the best of ASRH services are given by NGO’s who get funds from International donors but the fix is that they can only reach a few. This is not to say that the Nigerian government doesn’t support but it’s not their responsibility to support rather they should take it upon themselves to do the work and then NGO’s can support.

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by: kiki
Monday, September 7, 2009 at 11:44:00 AM EDT
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(the following is from Kiki, one of our youth activists in Nigeria)

Contraceptives Contraceptives!!! There is a whole lot of misconception about the use of contraceptives where I come from. Some say it causes infertility, make you gain weight and can lead to cancer, others say it causes high blood pressure and irregular menstrual cycle. What do you say?
 
It’s amazing what some young folks think about Sex and contraceptives or the use of contraceptives. This is what Ebere, a young female thinks about the use of Contraceptives.
Me: Is it ok if we talk about sex and contraceptives
She: Bring it on! (Smiles)
Me: What do you know about contraceptives?
She: It’s used during sexual intercourse to avoid pregnancy
Me: Ok! That’s one of it. But really how effective do you think it is?
She: Very effective just that there are side effects.
Me: Like?
She: Irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain, may lead to infertility
Me: Are you serious?
She: Yeah!

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by: kiki
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 12:46:00 PM EDT
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I recently came across an article in one of the dailies here in Nigeria. It immediately caught my attention with its title; 12 YEAR OLD GIRL RAPED BY 52 YEAR OLD H.I.V. POSITIVE TEACHER. I was stunned quickly tearing through the paper to get to the page that carried the article. I had quite a number of thoughts going through my mind: how did that happen, where, if they found that the man has H.I.V that means they tested him or did they? And then I felt a bit of despair as I thought what would happen to the little girl? The trauma of being raped then coupled with being infected with H.I.V. having to live with both consequences for the rest of her life.
By the time I was done reading the article, I could swear there was a huge knot right in the pit of my stomach. Bad enough was the horror this young girl had gone through, at least so I thought, however, the editor felt it necessary to equip the general public with the name and address of the little girl’s father. I thought how could they? Don’t they know the stigma this girl would suffer as a result? Yes a handful of people would sympathize with her and her family but many more would treat her different when they see on the street, run into her at school and how many of them would offer her a job knowing this part of her life? I kept thinking how fragile the concept of innocence being some form of security is. Now while all these was heart wrenching enough it was just a part of the story. A far more tragic chapter was the consequence the man was to face for his actions, which was next to nothing. When I got to this part of the article I felt a fuse burning in my head. Now while in certain parts of the country it’s on record that the perpetrators of such sexual harassment crimes met with full consequences of their actions under the law, it grieves me to say that in most parts of the country it is a different practice all together and the case in question has fallen into the latter category.
As remarkably heinous a crime this man committed and has been caught it’s sad to note that he might walk away with little or no punishment yet there is a legal system and laws in this country.
A man is caught having perpetrated such an act, he is first put in a cell in the police station, after a few months he pays some money as bail, he is released and free to go (can you believe that!!). Some other cases he is actually brought before a judge in a law court, then due to the millions of cases on row to be tried, the judge adjourns till a date sometime in the next year or the year after that. Mean while there isn’t a standard police department to handle evidences so by the next year when the case is heard the man walks because of “insufficient evidence”. Many times there isn’t evidence to start with because the police are not capable of carrying out conclusive investigations on crimes committed and so cases have to be built solely on the testimonies of the victims which a lot of times aren’t enough.
 


by: kiki
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 12:40:00 PM EDT
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It was always interesting watching parents in movies try to explain to their young children “the birds and the bees”. I remember that in most cases the parent would cringe and stutter all in a bid to help their children understand the differences between birds and bees. Just as how we have seen tremendous changes in technology and so on, there are huge changes to what parents and children talk about in the area of the birds and the bees these days. While in most part of Africa as we know it’s still a forbidden issue, and if one is caught brandishing a weapon like a condom or even a book on anything sexual, he or she is sent to the gallows or made to do time, it appears to be a totally different ball game in other parts of the world. I was watching fox news the other day and a story that made headlines was that in a high school in America teenage girls (mostly 13 year olds) were being tested for pregnancies in the school. Now the gist of the story wasn’t that 13 year old children were pregnant, it was that they were given health care without the parents’ consent. Now the analysts at fox news interviewed two parents; a mother and a father, and while the woman believed it was ok for the school to provide such services for their children, the man believed that at least the consent of the parents should be sort before any of their children are given natal services. The authorities of the school explained that due to the high and increasing percentage of pregnancies among teenagers’ particularly 13 year old girls; they thought it wise to include this service in the school.
As I watched the story I was wondering somewhere in my mind what would happen if a secondary school in Nigeria was on the news saying they were providing such services to girls in their J.S.S classes, between people getting sacked, parents removing their wards from the school and shut down of the school are the most likely responses I arrived at. However lower the percentage might be which is even fast increasing maybe we should look at more preventive and enlightening measures of preventing this same scenario in our schools, but how do we effectively do that when in most of our homes issues like contraceptives and sex are still forbidden ? That’s down right a TABOO!!!!
But what should be the conclusion? Should children be given these services without their parents’ consent or should the school try to get the consent living children at their mercy???


by: kiki
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 12:19:00 PM EDT
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(the following is from Kiki, one of our youth activists in Nigeria)

Gender discrimination, an ill that still festers in various recesses of our society. Even today we find that every woman has and is still suffering one form of gender discrimination or the other. This is an interview of a young lady who has suffered this in no small way. Her name and certain other facts have been withheld for obvious reasons.

Question: Could you please say where you are from?

Answer: I am from Bida, in Minna, Niger state. I am 19 years old.

Question: Tell us a bit about your family background?

Answer: My father had two wives who didn’t produce sons for him so he married my mum as his third wife. After my elder sister, myself and my younger sister, my mum gave birth to a boy.

Question: Why did your father insist on having a boy?

Answer: From where I come from it is viewed as a sign of weakness if a man had no sons so my dad had to have a son at all cost. In the village we stay in huts which are in compounds.

Each man would have a compound and he and each of his wives would stay in separate huts within the compound.

Question: So when did you start school and what happened?

Answer: I started school early, I don’t really remember when. What I do remember is that when I was about 4 years old my father came to the school I was attending with a cane and beat me terribly. I remember that I had not done anything wrong and even my mother didn’t know that he did that. My dad felt it was “useless” to educate female children.

Question: So you left school?

Answer: No I continued. He repeated the beatings 3 other times. When he did it the last time he insisted that my name be removed from the registers, exercise books and so on.

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by: kiki
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 10:58:00 AM EDT
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(The following is from Kiki, one of our youth advocates in Nigeria)

It happened on July 7th 2009, to be precise, that we received an invitation from the Minister for Health to be a part of the dissemination workshop of the Assessment Report on the Situation of National Response of Young People’s Sexual Reproductive Health and Development in Nigeria. We were all so excited to have received the invitation because the Minister himself was to be present at the workshop and other relevant stakeholders. We believed it was an opportunity to get his commitment on our advocacy objectives. Did we get it? Lets find out!
 
Prior to this time, we were invited to be a part of the desk review and field assessment review. It was an amazing experience as we stood out in those meetings to make our inputs and recommendations especially with the tools used for the field assessment. It was also made clear during our presentation that the framework for the existing National Policy on the Health and Development of Young people in Nigeria must be costed and funded by the government.
 
During the Dissemination workshop, a number of people gave speeches but i was particularly interested in what the Minister had to say especially because we send in our inputs on what we thought needs to be done. According to the Minister  ‘‘ Funding has been a critical issue & we will endeavour funds are made available for Adolescent Health and Development (AHD) programs in the 2010 fiscal budget. Good New!!!
 
The meeting was a blast but we are not resting until we see these words become a reality. The Youth Advocates Group will continue to work with the Ministries and National Assembly to ensure the realization of our objectives especially with the funding of AHD programs in Nigeria.

We also had quite a number of interviews by reporters and so on. It was really COOL! With hindsight, I think being a Youth Advocate is actually FUN and we really do impact. Every step and action sets a course on motion. WE ROCK !!!!!  
 


by: kiki
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 11:12:00 AM EDT
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(The following is from Kikelomo, one of our youth activists in Nigeria)

Some days ago, I spoke to a teenage girl in one of the communities on the outskirts of town who already has a 7 months old baby. I asked her about how she got pregnant and she told me that her boyfriend usually would use of a condom when they had sex, but that very day he wanted to get down “natural”, so he called it. That was his reason for not using a condom. She said, “I asked him if he would take responsibility for any complications like pregnancy?”, and he answered ‘yes.’
 
Well, luckily and unluckily for her, not too long after, she got pregnant and when she told him, he didn’t refuse the pregnancy. I would consider her very lucky because not every young man will stand up to that kind of responsibility.
 
This young lady isn’t in school anymore and she has to cater for her growing daughter. Her husband also isn’t educated but somehow he’s keeping busy with a little trade, and helping the family.
 
I am not exactly surprised because I know a lot of young people, including myself, know the right thing to do, but yet we want to know what it feels like. ‘Curiosity’ is the name they call it! Now, not many of us want to end up like this young lady, but then we are not willing to make the right choices, and definitely not ready to live with the consequences of bad decisions. For this young girl, she is faced with the responsibility of bringing up a child when she herself still needs to be raised.

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by: kiki
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 12:10:00 PM EDT
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(The following is from Kikelomo, one of our youth activists in Nigeria)
 
The other day I went into a Primary Health Care center. Though I’ve seen it before, I never knew they offered such services. This faithful day I decided to go there and ask if they had information and services on contraceptives and condoms, and tell them some of the changes I've noticed about my sexual and reproductive health.
 
As a Youth Activist, advocating for young people’s reproductive health and sexuality, I’ve never had any experience using contraceptives so I knew whatever I was going to ask there has to be real. It made me feel I was representing other young people.
 
There were 3 nurses seated when I entered the facility and they all welcomed me nicely, even though they had this surprised look on their faces. Then I asked “Is there a youth Friendly Center here? I mean, is there a place where I can ask about sexual and reproductive health related questions”? Then one of the nurses asked me “Did someone send you here?”  I figured she inferred I was sent by someone to spy on them or something. So I responded “Don’t young people come here to ask questions and get information about their Sexual Reproductive Health?” Then she looked at the other nurse and smiled. At this point I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She then said “No! Not that”. She offered me a seat and told me to make myself comfortable but then I thought, what can she tell me?
 
"What can you tell me about condoms and contraceptives?" I asked. She answered by saying condoms are used to prevent infections and pregnancy during sexual intercourse and it can be therapeutic. Condoms are contraceptives and there are different types of contraceptives for males and females. She talked about the different kinds of contraceptives females use and its side effects. At this point I started feeling funny. She said contraceptives are not good for single ladies, that it causes high blood pressure, complications at birth, infertility, fatness and so on. In my head I started thinking of everyone I know that has suddenly gained weight. Lol! But am I getting the right information? Oh my God!
 
She didn’t stop there. She also told me about her experiences with some teenage girls she had witnessed back at the midwifery school. She said the girl tried to abort her pregnancy, which nearly caused her death. The doctor had to bring out the baby and for the 1st time she saw a 5 month old baby, but then the baby later died.
 
So I asked again: "What should I do if I am pregnant?"
 

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by: kiki
Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 7:54:00 AM EDT
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There is this saying that evil prevails when good people do nothing. This is especially true and not just in the ageless battle between good and evil, but if you look closely, in our daily lives. A lot of times we consider ourselves free from certain responsibilities because there are a bunch of people we labeled with a fancy name and the illusion of having the responsibility to see to it that we go on living our lives care free. You even find people making statements like ‘isn’t the government doing anything about this?’ or ‘aren’t there agencies that are supposed to handle this?’ Well maybe to a certain degree we all could justifiably sit down and point fingers at every other person accusing them of being responsible for why this has gone wrong or that is not how it’s supposed to be. However if we took a closer look at the history that has culminated into the world we have today we will find that we made the greatest changes and defied the greatest odds when we ourselves took upon ourselves the responsibility of the changes we seeked.
Today we are faced with the realities of (in most cases) the choices we have made. Maybe in the fact that today a number of little girls will experience the horrors of FGM, or that a larger number of people will be infected with HIV and various other STIs, or that a would have been Barrack Obama, Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela or even that seemingly insignificant fellow that lives around the corner won’t be given the chance of life cause a number of our daughters will abort our children today. Sometimes I wonder how we got to this point, how we have managed to give our world the chance to be described by the above. In reality the picture is worse, and irresponsible doesn’t quite define the mindset of sitting somewhere and pointing fingers or worse ignoring.
Somebody once said in other for us to change the world we need to change ourselves, how true. We need to ACT!!! If I would seek to educate myself in my sexual reproductive health and just pass the knowledge to my family and friends I would have made a difference. It’s like the billions of electrons that bombard your TV screen to give you clear crisp pictures, each electron no matter how tiny or seemingly insignificant has a role to play. So let us stop, learn, think and ACT!!!


by: kiki
Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 7:50:00 AM EDT
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Knowledge is key
And this key opens doors
These doors are path ways leading to many different ends
These ends are not usually the same
There are huge differences from end to end
Differences that set them worlds apart
However we all have a path to thread
And an end to meet
Whether we meet the right end depends on which path we walk
Whether we walk the right path depends on which door we open
Whether we open the right door depends on which key we have
Knowledge is key
What doors are YOU opening?
 


by: kiki
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 8:47:00 AM EDT
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One out of every ten people is HIV positive or so they say. 1.2 billion People the world over are currently living with HIV. What has happened to our world? What has happened to us?
Man is a free moral agent he however walks about in chains. Chains his choices have created and ultimately keep him in. I like the song ‘heal the world save the children’, whose job is it? Who is to help me understand that a fifth of my friends in class according to statistics have HIV? Or why the Physics teacher stopped coming to class because the young girl who sits by the window tested positive? How do I protect myself? What happens to our dreams?
I hear we send a troop all over the world for peace keeping, to stop the wars in lands far away, what about the war within? Do I even dare to dream? Will I live long enough to achieve? I hear that a nation’s greatest resource is its people; I hear the youths are the strength of every nation. Again I remember ‘heal the world save the children’ and again I ask whose job is it? How many people actually are aware of these things? Obviously everybody should know. This isn’t merely for the rich or poor, for the educated or ignorant, black or white.
One out of every ten people, 1.2 billion people in the world over are currently living with HIV. I think it’s not just 1.2 billion people who are living with it; I think it’s everybody, the whole 6 billion people whether or not we admit it. Who says the doctor who delivers your wife of your child isn’t, or the maid that makes your children’s food. How about people you go to work with or the waiter at your favorite restaurant? We are all living with this, no one left out.
My name doesn’t matter but I am that friend of yours, your neighbor, the young guy you saw at the mall, the young girl who sits behind you in class. I am the young guy that asked your daughter out, the girl your son has a crush on. The driver you send to go pick your kids up from school, the cute banker you are attracted to.


by: kiki
Monday, April 27, 2009 at 5:59:00 AM EDT
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Where are the fathers? Where are our builders, our molders, where are the ones to lead us by the hands? Where are the fathers? 19% of girls and women are living with the consequences of female genital mutilation, where are the fathers? Abortion complications account for 72% of all deaths among young girls under the age of 19 years in Nigeria, where are the fathers?
Rukewe loves to smile, paint and dance, she is only 3 years old and needs to understand why she might not live to be 15 years because she is positive to HIV, she needs to know that while other children are dreaming of a future that transcends teenage hood, she doesn’t possess such rights. Where are the fathers?
Goke is 7 and will grow up wondering why for the little while he knew his mother, she was always in the hospital and one day they said ‘she’s gone’. But why did mummy have to go too, she told me daddy went before I was born? Where are the fathers?
Mariam was barely 13 when Alhaji gave her to the village head, although she wanted to go to school but what choice did she have, so she became 5th wife to the 60 year-old chief. Now she is in pains, confused and has been ostracized because she can’t seem to control urine from her body. She feels perhaps it’s a curse or maybe payment for her sins. Where are the fathers?

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