VIVA LILY PARTNERS WITH YADT; HELPING UNDERAGE SEXUALLY ACTIVE GIRLS IN CHITUNGWIZA, ZIMBABWE

“Research has shown that 50% of girls aged thirteen and fourteen are sexually active in Chitungwiza, a suburb of Harare. With the family unit broken down, many young girls and boys are left largely unattended.” This, according to Wesley from YADT (Youth Aspire Development Trust) has had a direct effect on the lifestyle this generation of young people are now living. Sex, drugs and pornography are cheap and readily available.

Driven by peer pressure, social media and easy access to pornography through Whatsapp films, the young today are engaging in “Marathon Sex Parties”. These parties happen when parents are away, drugs, alcohol and a group of adolescent boys and girls get together at a house, lock the gate and “party” for as long as they can. Sex enhancer drugs, multiple partners and often no contraceptives are the norm.

Some of the family planning methods include washing the vagina out with Surf washing powder, pouring Fanta orange into the vagina or eating a seed of marijuana.  Abortion pills are readily available on the black market.

Wesley explained that in the 90’s drug abuse was mainly seen with the boys but today more girls are doing drugs than ever before, including ecstasy and bronco dilators.  He attributes much of the new behavior to the mixing of cultures through an increase in travel as well as the internet. 

There are the inevitable hot spots such as around the beer halls which are often packed with older men and younger girls. The girls are willing to sell themselves for a dollar in order to buy food, sanitary products or to go to school. There is one area where girls as young as ten are living as “dancers” with a “Big Mama” overseeing them. Many are orphans and all are just trying to survive. Sometimes the parents are simply unaware of what their daughters are doing and we were told that the girls are often the aggressors.

Of course this isn’t limited to the townships. Pool parties, experimental behavior, drinking, drug taking and a need to mimic what is seen on social media, in music videos, TV programs and other internet based forums is as prolific in the “leafy” suburbs.

Today children are bringing themselves up, in part through parent absenteeism but also because of their knowledge of the internet, smart phones and computers that allows them to hide much of their online activity. We simply don’t know what they are watching or who they are engaging with. 

As Wesley so eloquently put it; “Sometimes children have been made more vulnerable by the very rights we give them of freedom and privacy. Children have access to the internet but no guidelines or education. We give them more freedom and more privacy with no accountability. Where there are rights there also needs to be responsibility.”

And this is where YADT comes in. Having identified that young people, especially girls, are not getting the much needed sexual reproductive health education, Wesley started YADT in 2015 to address these issues. His dynamic team are dedicated to reaching as many girls as possible. He engages with Church leaders and organizations such as PSZIM to provide free family planning and condom distribution on a monthly basis.