Young Talk, April 2006

Not for SALE: Young Talk is FREE

Vol. 9 No. 4 April 2006

Sex education for primary schools

Think of your future family This year, Straight Talk Foundation (STF) is going to give GRAND PRIZES to schools that participate in our GRAND COMPETITION. There will be MATH SETS for pupils, BICYCLES for teachers and LATRINE STANCES for schools as well as many other AMAZING GIFTS

•Know your rights •Stay in school •Read your books •Wait to have sex •Plan your future

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

You will be required to show proof that you have read and used six issues of Young Talk with your class in 2006. The COMPETITION will be running EVERY MONTH starting MAY.

DON'T MISS.

Journalist for the day

Think about your future. How many children do you want to have when you grow up? Family planning is a service that gives you information on having the number of children you can care for very well. Family planning helps parents to have children when they are ready for them. It is safe and healthy.

Young Talk went to Sironko and asked pupils about the kind of families they want to have when they grow up. "We are eight children. I want to have only four so I can control them. It will be easy for me to educate few children. Feeding them will also be easy. It will also be easy for me to dress them up. When they are few, they will also be able to sleep well because the house will be big enough for them". said Musa Lukhoolam, 12, P7, Muyembe Boys PS, Sironko

Look around. Find out how many you are in the family. Look at the neighbouring family.

a View PS Veronica Natambi of Ntind drew An in Kampala interviewed ing nn pla ily Nasasira about fam family? How many are you in your ily. fam the in n We are five childre Are you all in school? n is too Four of us are in school. The last bor young and is at home. ? What is your own life dream I want to become a lawyer. want to What kind of family do you have? up. I know I I want three children when I grow and support can be able to care for them well them to study hard.

How big is it? Think of what you see or experience. Are they finding it easy to meet the education costs of their children? Are there some children who have dropped out due to money problems? What about clothes and medical care? Is it easy or difficult to manage? What about feeding condition. Think about housing. Is the house they are living in big enough to accommodate them well? These are some of the questions that can help you develop an idea of size and quality of your future family. Read more about what Sironko children say on page! YOUNG TALK IS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS IN P5, P6 AND P7

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Young Talk, April 2006

Family planning can help families to be financially strong

We are eight children. I live with my brother because my father is harsh. I want to have four children. These will not take too much money for things like school fees and clothes. Poverty is too much these days. So I have to be careful. Boy, 16, Sironko PS

A well planned family can provide medical care to children bit Best haen d in mind.

Begin with the ning my “I am not only plan g of education but thinkinmy how I want to raise to t children, how I wan what d an teach my family e should kind of home life w ote qu t’s en have” A stud ok titled: picked from the bo highly The seven habits of s. effective teenager

I want one man in my life

When I grow up I want to get married to only one man in my life. If you are married to one person you will be free with him because all the children in the family will be his. Ritah Nabukwasi, 13, P6, Muyembe Girls PS, Sirokno

h I want enoug land for my children We are

rents. I live with my pa the last am I eight children. arry one m born. I want to ve two ha to t wife. I wan e I will lack land children becaus ren if I ild to give all the ch nthony A y. an m e produc , Nabbongo Mauso,18, P7 PS, Sironko

Avoid big families When

I grow u four children. p, I want to have It small number is good to have a you can care fo For us we are nine in the fam r. ily. I advise my frie big families bec nds not to have will suffer. Th ause the children ey fees, food, an will lack school d Beatrice Na clothes. P6, Gangambukwasi, 13, a PS, Siron ko

big But I want a family in my family. I am the

Family plannin g allows:

• You to have the number of childre n you can educate and give • You have the nu medical care m • One have the nu ber you can feed. m fit in one house w ber of children that can ith sleeping on the flo out some of them •Parents make sa or for lack of space . vings buy farmland or to which can help them • Mothers remain start up a business he •Parents not to w althy and strong orry about school fees because they can afford •Each baby get a chance to grow w ell before another is born

We are seven children ant to have 8 third born. I w p. I also want to have two when I grow u e first one will get old th wives because my grandmother here in h it w Kampala. easily. I live parents live in y M the village. isano, 15, Amuza NamPS, Sironko Bungwanyi wife Advice arry a second ill grow m to t h g ri t o ew It is n ink the first on because you th g care of your wife well n old faster. Taki te at which she wears ra e too many can slow th ple, producing out. For exam f medical care can make a o children, lack ld faster. As you grow o w ro g from woman out family life ab re o m n ar up, le rkers. and health wo your teachers

Parents feel happy when they can afford to take their children for treatment. Family planning promotes health

Teacher says

I am married. I have two children but I intend to have four. This is the number I can afford with my limited resources.

I have decided so because: • I want to give enough love and attention to my children. • I want to give them good medical care. • I alslo want to educate all my children very well. If they are so many, I will fail. • It they are too many, they can walk naked because I will be to poor to buy clothes for all. Ms Eva Bukirwa, teacher, St Mary's PS, Njeru, Jinja

YOUNG TALK IS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS IN P5, P6 AND P7

• Family planning is safe and healthy • Know what kind of family you want to have in future • Family planning helps you have a healthy family • Avoid early unwanted pregnancy. It is one sign of a poorly planned family

DEAR Young TALK I am a virgin. Some friends say I am abnormal because I do not show any movement when I am tickled. Is this true? R Mugarura, 13, P6, Iruhuura PS, Fort Portal Being inactive when tickled does not mean that you are abnormal. You are normal. Different people react differently to touch.

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la P.O. B0X 22366 Kampa

I have girls who are friendly to me. But some boys are telling me to start sex with them. I am refusing but the boys are putting pressure on me. Frank Nuwagaba, 16, P7, Kasheshe PS, Mbarara Having friends who are girls does not mean that you should start having sex with them. Your friends are putting wrong pressure on you. Ignore what they are saying. My father does not want to pay my school fees because two of my sisters got pregnant while they were in school. Esther Nali, 14, P7, Buleguyi PS, Bugiri Talk to an adult you think your father can listen to.This may be a relative, an elder in the village, a church leader or a teacher. You can then talk to your father after he has met any of these people. Convince your father that you are interested in education and will not disappoint him.

meeting her. Keep in company of your friends. Form a club where you read together, and get involved in useful and safe activities in your community.

Is it true that if you are not 18 you cannot make a girl pregnant? Gilbert Musana, 14, Rwaramba PS, Kisoro It is not true. Body changes start as early as 10 years for girls and 12 for boys. That is the time a boy's body starts producing sperms. That means even at 12, a boy can make a girl pregnant. Why do some girls in primary have sex with villagers? Dina Watuwa, 15, Wansale PS Kamuli Some are misled and think it is a source of getting material things such as money from men. Some girls lack the courage to say NO! Early sex is wrong, no matter who you have it with. Learn to respect and protect yourself. Say NO to early sex. Stick to education. Some people say HIV is spread through sex while others say it is got through pregnancy. Which one is true? Mediace Munezero, P6, Arya PS, Kampala HIV is spread through many ways. The main one is through having sex with an infected person. Other ways include; mother to child

transmission. This happens during pregnancy, delivery and breast feeding. HIV can also be transmitted through sharing of sharp instruments like razorblades, blood transfusion of infected blood. But today in Uganda all blood is tested before it is put in the body of another person.

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Some people have told me that you lose virginity when you climb a tree or ride bicycle. Is it true? Justine Ayo, S1, St Mary Girls SS, Madera, Soroti No! Virginity is lost when one has penetrative sex. However, the hymen is very thin and may stretch with vigorous activity like riding a bicycle or climbing trees. But this

does not mean you have broken virginity. I have very tiny breasts. When I am in my periods, they disappear completely. But when I am out of my periods, they reappear. Girl,13, P6, Kamunyiga PS, Ntungamo The hormones that the body produces during the menstrual cycle may lead to changes in the size of the breasts but this is normal. Don’t worry about your breasts. As you grow older, they will change in size. Above all, there is nothing wrong with small breasts, even when one becomes a mother. Counselor: Dr Namayanja Edrine

Bird flu alert Bird flu is not in Uganda! But it is important to know about it in case it comes. Bird flu is a viral disease that kills domestic and wild birds. Restock your poultry houses, and keep enjoying chicken and eggs. But always do the following:• Cook poultry and

eggs well before eating. • Report any dead or sick birds to a veterinary officer. • Change shoes and clothes and wash hands before and after working with poultry. • Regularly clean where you keep your poultry: sweep away droppings daily. • Avoid visiting other poultry farms. Avoid hunting wild birds for food Brought to you by the Poultry Association of Uganda and ASPS, DANIDA

I am 14 but I have not yet started menstruation. This worries me. I hear girls start menstruation at 11. Margaret Atuhairwe, P7, Butema Church of Uganda PS, Hoima There is no specific age at which girls start menstruation. Some start as early as 9 while others start even after 14. So do not get worried.Your time will come. At your age, you only need to have the information on how to handle menstruation when it comes. I met a drunken old woman who forced me into sex. We have been together since then. What can I do to leave her? Boy, 12, Manya PS, Kyotera You are too young to be involved in sex. According to Ugandan law, what this woman has done to you is indecent assault. She can be imprisoned for it. And remember that this woman can infect you with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/STDs. Stick to education. Stay away from this woman and stop

Pupils of St Augustine Academy, Kampala.

STRAIGHT TALK FOUNDATION

Publisher: Plot 45 Bukoto St., Kamwokya, P. O. Box 22366, Tel: (0312) 262030/1, 041 530008 Kampala (U), Fax: 534858, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Communications Director: C. Watson,, Programme Director: A. A. Fiedler, Editors: T. Agutu, B. Kagoro, E. Kimuli, G. Awekofua, Designers: M. eB. Kalanzi, Gb. Mukasa Printer: The New Vision, Young Talk is funded by DANIDA, DFID, Ireland Aid & SIDA.

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