It’s all in the name…

The Pregnant Teen Mentoring Project has a new name, which we are due to launch in July…
Two Young Lives – mentoring and more, for thriving, not just surviving. 
In this part of Freetown, 1 in 7 pregnant girls aged under 17 don’t survive birth. With 11 safe births in the mentoring scheme already since October we are in the Kingdom business of saving lives!

Our three lovely mentors,  ‘Aunties’ Ruth, Aminata and Marie, supported by project coordinator Mangenda, are faithfully befriending and getting alongside vulnerable pregnant teenage girls, supporting them through their pregnancy and birth, as they start and run a small business and during the first year of the child’s life. All this ensures that mother and baby continue to thrive.

We have celebrated the safe birth of 11 babies since October 2017, and the oldest, Lucy, is now 6 months old. We have an additional 9 pregnant teenagers, two of whom are deaf, currently being mentored.

Plus we were awarded a £4000 grant from the Souter Charitable Trust, which enables us to continue for another year.

Lucy November, Midwife Research Fellow, visited in April 2018 to gather information as part of an evaluation and feasibility study into the pilot pregnant teens mentoring scheme in Freetown. She met with the mentors, pregnant teens and the young mums with their babies, as well as community leaders and health professionals.
Working in conjunction with Mangenda, they are seeking clear wisdom as they plan extending the mentoring scheme, which includes identifying vulnerable teenagers and having concise financial procedures for the small business loans and their repayments.

To highlight the scheme and promote what Two Young Lives does to a wider audience, a facebook page has been set up. Click here to like and follow the page www.facebook.com/1in7PregnantTeens/