Motorcyclists, bicycle riders blamed for teenage pregnancies and HIV/AIDS contamination

By Charles NDUSHABANDI.

As unwanted pregnancies among the teenagers continue to rise, victims blame taxi-motorcyclists and bicycle riders to be on top of culprits especially in Kigali city.

Victims make a big part of secondary school students who finally drop out of schools after being pregnant. Only in 2017, over 17,000 cases were counted countrywide.

Umuhoza, 16, whose second name was withheld because she is still a child, told The Inspirer that motorcyclists and bicycle riders use to impregnate young girls after giving them free transportation from school at home or from home to school.

Umuhoza dropped out from school in senior two due to unwanted pregnancy. She advises other young girls in high school to avoid lures and free gifts from boys and men.

“I advise my colleagues to not accept gifts and other service in order to pay their sex because they can be pregnant and lose their future,” Umuhoza said.

Simeon Umuhoza, one of the tax motorcyclists in Kigali city told The Inspirer that girls are attracted by money and end up by being pregnant.

He said when young girls are given small money by tax motorcyclists and make sex, they make it as a routine to always gain such amount.

He advises his colleagues to strive for their pride and have one partner in love.

“What I can tell my colleagues is to love one girl and make sure that it can be possible to make her your wife after you have impregnated her,” he said.

Jean Claude Mugenzi, a bicycle rider in Remera-Kigali says that it happens most of the time and the reason is that youth ignore sometimes the use of condom.

Patrick Uzabakiriho, the president of taxi motorcyclists in Jabana sector in Gasabo District said that 15 percent, motorcycles used to fall in such a case.

“we keep giving them pieces of advice, sometimes they make them pregnant and fail to support them, we do various campaign to tell them stop or use a condom, “Uzabakiriho said.

Uzabakiriho was speaking to the media on June 22, 2019 during a campaign against teenage pregnancies and HIV/AIDS among the youths in Jabana Sector.

The campaign was organized by African Evangelists Enterprise (AEE-Rwanda) in partnership with Gasabo District and Jabana sector to implement the program dubbed ‘Determinate Recognize Empowerment Mentoring and Safe’ through the USAID support.

The research done by AEE revealed that 150 of 300 girls who dropped out of school in Jabana sector were impregnated by bicycle riders and taxi motorcycles. Most of these girls are female sex workers and teenage mothers living with their parents.

Only in Jabana and Nyacyonga sectors, over 100 young boys and men were tested for HIV/AIDS during the campaign and hundreds more joined a football match that hosted taxi motorcyclists and bicycle riders at Kabuye football ground where free HIV testing service continued to be given for youths.

The campaign aims at preventing unwanted pregnancies and HIV/AIDS among the girls aged between 10 and 24. Beneficiaries include girls who dropped out of school and 2407 girls in 10 districts of Gasabo Ditrict were helped to regain education at school, among them 77 are in boarding schools.

Besides they are given school materials. 5415 in the whole district who stropped out of school at the younger age are helped to join TVET school. 200 joined 965 also helped to get three-months vocational training.

“We help them change by teaching them and sensitize them leave out prostitution to look for another job to survive. We help them be in associations to be able to support them easily,” AEE Officials said.

DREAMS program operate in five districts of Rwanda including Gasabo, Rwamagana, Nyanza, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge. The program is also operational in Uganda and Kenya.

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