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Follow-up with Campaign Participants
Reports, Conclusion, and Progress of the Africa Educa Ela Campaign
MARIA DOMINGOS
Interview with Maria Domingos – Survivor of Teenage Pregnancy
Interviewer: Good afternoon.
Maria: Good afternoon.
Interviewer: How are you?
Maria: I’m fine, thank you.
Interviewer: What is your name?
Maria: My name is Maria Domingos.
Interviewer: Maria, you were with us a few years ago, at the beginning of the Africa Educa Ela campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, and you told us that you had experienced teenage pregnancy. We would like to know how your academic life is going now, whether you have managed to recover, whether you have returned to school, whether you finished secondary school, how your baby is doing, and how your life is in general.
Maria: Well, I became a victim of teenage pregnancy at the age of 16, in 2016. Thank God, everything is going well on my side and on my baby’s side. After I had my baby, I was no longer able to finish secondary school. But I am taking care of my child, who is already quite grown up. He is 9 years old and is studying. He is here.
Interviewer: Oh, he is already quite grown up.
Maria: Yes, he has grown.
Interviewer: What grade is he in?
Maria: He passed into fourth grade. He is 9 years old.
Interviewer: Do you know how to read?
Child: Not yet.
Interviewer: Do you know how to write?
Child: Yes, I know how to write.
Interviewer: Can you already spell words?
Child: Yes, I can.
Interviewer: You are 9 years old?
Child: Yes.
Interviewer: And who is that baby?
Maria: He is my new baby. He is 2 years old. His name is Alberto.
Interviewer: Baby, look over there and say bye-bye.
Interviewer: And how is your academic life? Have you returned to school? What is preventing you from doing so?
Maria: At the moment, I have not returned to school. [laughs]
Interviewer: Why?
Maria: Due to a lack of resources.
Interviewer: Financial resources?
Maria: Yes. Because of a lack of financial resources, I cannot go back to school.
Interviewer: Did you stop during primary/basic education?
Maria: Yes.
Interviewer: What grade were you in when you stopped going to school?
Maria: I stopped in Grade 8.
Interviewer: So, teenage pregnancy and the lack of financial resources are the main factors preventing you from progressing academically?
Maria: Yes.
Interviewer: And are you still with the father of your child? The last time we spoke, you told us that he had denied the pregnancy.
Maria: Yes, he denied the pregnancy, and even now he does not acknowledge the child, who is already 9 years old. He does not provide any support.
Interviewer: Are you a single mother?
Maria: Yes.
Interviewer: And how is life with the new baby?
Maria: It is the same situation. Poor thing, I don’t know what my problem is. Maybe I am just unlucky, but the father of this child also does not want to take responsibility.
Interviewer: Did the father of this new baby also deny the pregnancy?
Maria: Yes, it is the same situation. But as a mother, I also struggle and work on my own.
Interviewer: So you are working only to support your two children, and you no longer have any time or resources for yourself?
Maria: No. I work to support my two children. There is nothing left for me.
Interviewer: Okay. Thank you very much. We will help you and work to improve this situation. Thank you very much for participating in the campaign from the beginning.
Maria: Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
GOING BACK IN TIME - MARIA AND HER FIRST INTERVIEW SEVERAL YEARS AGO
2020
I dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy.
Hello, My name is Maria Gomes, I'm 21 years old, I'm here to talk about my academic life.
Maria are you studying right now?
No.
When did you stop studying and how old were you at the time?
I stopped studying in the 7th grade in 2017, at the age of 18.
Why did you stop studying?
I stopped studying because I got pregnant. When I discovered the pregnancy I did not stop studying at that moment, I continued with my studies until November 2017, then I dropped out of school because of the pregnancy symptoms.
Are you married to the father of your child?
No. We broke up because he denied the pregnancy
Would you like to go back to school?
Yeah, I'd like to go back to school.
What are the reasons that prevent you from going back to study?
Lack of financial resources. I have no money to pay my tuition.
How has the coronavirus affected you?
I used to work, but after the emergence of the pandemic my boss asked me to stay home. Also things in this period are very expensive and have made life very difficult, we had no way to eat at home, I am not working.
How have you been supporting your son?
My 35-year-old older sister has been helping me with the expenses. In general, I support my son alone without his father's help.
How old is your son?
My son is now 3 years old.
Girls and young women’s access, retention and completion in schools is still of huge concern in Africa. Our continent also has the highest rate of out of school children and adolescents globally. However, girls remain more likely to be permanently excluded from education and at a higher risk of being left behind.
Click this link to learn more about Maria: https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/12/africa-educates-her-campaign-angola_24.html
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