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AUNTIES PROJECT...
Educating Adolescents

Aunties – who are we?

According to our studies, one in five girls (21%) will become pregnant during their high school years. Aunties are teenage girls who have contracted an unwanted pregnancy, yet still want to continue their education. They are young mothers who become trained in sexual and reproductive health, as well as life skills and future planning. They then become examples to others on how to overcome the obstacles and continue with their new lives.

However, as a result of their pregnancy, they have little choice but to drop out of school. They are generally abandoned by the father of the baby and often times, by their own family. According to our findings, 5% of girls did not have any prenatal consultations, and less than half (48%) only had one late consultation in their pregnancy. Also, 22% of the children of teenage mothers do not have a birth certificate. Finally, more than a third of all babies (36%) suffered from diarrhea in their first six months.

Our History

The German-Cameroonian Health and AIDS Program (GCPSS) initiated an approach of educating and guiding young girls in the field of preventing early pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. Our approach is to take the ‘Aunties’ who are themselves teenage mothers, and teach them how to help their fellow peers and adolescents by educating others and setting good examples.

An Aunty is: a teenage mother who gave birth between the ages of 12 and 18; and who is engaged in the field of preventing early pregnancies, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS. She does not necessarily have to be enrolled in school, but she needs to be dynamic, voluntarily hard working, and is dedicated to her role as outlined below.

  • Education / Assistance of peers to adapt low-risk behavior while in school and in the community
  • Counseling of adolescents and peers on their sexuality, information and guidance on the problems related to early sex, unwanted pregnancy, STI, HIV/AIDS
  • Sharing of experiences on the realities and difficulties that go hand in hand with an early pregnancy

Benefits of being an “Aunty”: Thorough knowledge of the body, sexual and reproductive health and rights, active participation in community life, awareness of the risks of being infected with STI/HIV/AIDS, sense of leadership and promotion, high self-esteem.

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