 Thank you so much for sticking to Y254 TV. You are watching the power talk show and I am your host Sherry blessing now before we went on our break We were talking about sexual and reproductive help and rides and the bridge Bridgette Modone was just taking us through some of the contraceptives and some of the Information that we need to know if we are sexually active and we have sexual partners So you were just telling Bridgette that we need to learn more. We need to Seek information especially through tests before we take contraceptives before we decide on a method of contraceptives So where can we find this because most people are not aware that there are doctors who are specifically there for that Where can the common man and she if I'm just like a lady from a low-income background And I want to seek information and help about my Reproductive health. Where can I find this information and the doctors for that? Thank you for that question And you can find it as in all public health facilities from level 1 to level 3 They are free of financial bill. I'm talking this of Nairobi only There was a way that Contraceptives was to be charged but later our governor amended and now it's free and then for level 4 and for level 5 hospitals They are charging just a little bit and this was to make sure that Every woman has access to contraceptives because you find that there's some people there's some young girls especially in Informal settlements you find that they have been assaulted then what happens? They need these contraceptives to prevent themselves from becoming pregnant because they're still young They want to continue the education and that's why now contraceptives are free in dispensaries level 1 to level 3 hospitals Yes Make sure you visit any public facility and then for young people also the government is is really trying to make sure that they provide you the friendly centers Facilities rather that are within the hospital structure Yes, it's not a building on its own because that can be really expensive But they have set aside a desk for young people whereby you can consult you can ask questions And then for the grown-ups just go ask and you'll be directed where to get these services And that's very informative because as you said it's free of charge And this is information that people probably do not have and your reproductive health your sexual health is very important So you can go to any public hospital ask your questions You know sometimes full fear the stigma of will they judge me or will they think this and this of me? Take care of your health because it's only you who will have to deal with the consequences if you do not So it's free of charge get the test get the contraceptives so that in case you're sexually active You do not stand the risk of anything and when we get into STIs because this is in alignment with STIs So most people do not even have the as Partners the young couples most people do not take the step of going to get a test together Or when they do the test they'll probably do a HIV test and ignore everything else So what's the value of also couples before becoming sexually active? What's the value of them doing a full spectrum test of STIs? Yeah, I'll talk both for people who are in Commitments full-time commitment and also the swing us So for lack of a better word the swing us that anybody come up close and you know Yeah, remember it's always good to know the status and still doesn't mean that whether someone is single or not Or the HIV positive or that because there's some STIs that as much as you get treated they remain in your system Okay, an example is the happy's you can be treated or hepatitis B. You can be treated Yes, the disease can be suppressed and it cannot be contracted the other person, but it will always test positive So imagine your relationship with someone and then at some point you go to test and you find that this person tests Hepatitis B positive then what happens that bring issues in that relationship So it's always good to take a test not only HIV test But also the STI tests so that you can know the status of the other person and if they have a condition If it's something that you can live with is that if it's something that can be treated to be treated early And then if something that can cannot be treated then you can find other ways Also, but if you still want to continue that relationship because you find that there are people who are HIV positive But they are there have been a relationship with who are negative So as long as you go to the hospital the doctor can advise you They can treat you they can give you the proper medication that you require in order for you to survive in that relationship But if you're not confident with that person then you always have an option to walk away Again, it's a personal choice, but always make sure whether it's you're swinging or not Then make sure you get tested but for the swingers condom is the best It's the only method that can give you double protection that is from the STIs and also Pregnancy and male condoms, they are most preferred because they are readily available and then they are cheap And also it's easy unlike the female condom whereby once you start condom needs to take in like 30 minutes before So that it can settle in in your body and then for every round you need to change it takes a lot of time So make sure at least and for women, I know it's weird when You go and then you want half seconds someone and they remove a condom But always make sure your safety comes first Always work with a condom. You never know the things happen that you're not planned So make sure you always work with a condom That's the only way you can find yourself yourself from pregnancy, but also STIs And I feel like it's very important for couples to take the test That's also a test of your relationship I believe if you're comfortable enough if you're confident in working in with someone and saying let's do this This test because we want to get serious. We want to get to the next level It's very important because otherwise if you're not willing to do that Then use condoms because your safety your health as she has said is the priority over pleasure that It just lasts for a few minutes or a few hours So let's get into the the health perspective of this conversation because I'm aware on the 10th of december It was the human rights day that was commemorated the 75th I believe and that was very important because they really rallied behind the sexual and reproductive Rights and in Kenya or in Africa. We still have issues of FGM We have issues of early marriage as you said we have issues of parents sexual trafficking their children and so forth So how can we do better to ensure that the rights of our young ladies in communities, especially where It's minor communities. Let's say northeastern or kajado in communities where it's very rural and they have no information It's not modernized. How can we ensure that we protect the rights of women in these communities? education education education Education is the way the government should really try and incorporate Comprehensive sex education in the curriculum so that kids are taught as early As the age of you know eight Okay, and they can even make it simpler so that such that even young kids receive this information Also the government and NGOs They are really trying also because you find that GBV. It's on the hotspots It's number one priority in Kenya right now when you talk of SRHR Which the government has also received funding and it's working on it But if people had this information Then they could have maybe changed their way of life or an example if it's a cultural Factor, then maybe they can have they they could have changed So NGOs government cbos. They're really trying But also as a community as a parent at home. We also need to play our parts Okay, always teach your kid doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl Teach them pass this information as early as you know as early as you can Okay, because you find that these challenges most of them they come from home They come from lack of information, but as a parent, you know, stop shutting down your kids We tell the kids of this generation because of technology They're exposed to so much information and they have all these questions that you want to ask But as a parent you don't want to talk to them and therefore the kids end up Trying out those things out there because they didn't get the information they require from home So as much as we point fingers to the government the NGOs and cbos As a parent you also need to play our role Community leaders and the commercial urge also work together Gently so that we can at least this challenge Again NGOs and cbos. They are training champions of SRHR So that they can also educate other community people within their area to change their way of life because some of these practices They are cultural But parents parents parents Let's play our role and it trickles down to the parents and the community leaders Because as you said in the situation in the quali county The parents are the ones who are sexually trafficking their children and for 100 bob at the end of the day nonetheless, which is It will barely buy your packet of unga So how can we also educate the parents and the elders in the community to understand the value of educating the girl child So that they empower the the women and they help them to even bring more Because i'm sure once you've educated your child and she's working and she brings you 10 20,000 even 5,000 It's much more than what she will get as a teenager bringing 25 shillings from one person and it's sleeping with someone it's invading their sexual and their reproductive system So how can we educate the parents and it because i think it's also poverty that drives them to that How can we teach the parents and the elders of these communities to do better to empower the children because the benefit is far much better Than what they're seeing presently So there are a lot of factors that contribute But the major even according to kdh is that was published 2022. That's the demographic data In kenya that's are published every year is that the major cost is the root cause of these issues Is education and poverty So those are the major issues that causes these things to happen that even parents are willing to sacrifice the kids In order to make just a small amount of money So these there's something called right holders which are the young girls and boys that we engage in our programs And then they are key influencers of these right holders now talking about parents Religious leaders community leaders and government But mostly religious leaders communities and parents. They are closer to these children even More than the government. Okay, so as much as we are passing information to the kids We should also sit down with the parents Let them tell us what they know Okay, then educate them We should also have group discussions Whereby we evaluate what the parents know what the kids know and let them interact freely We give them a safe space whereby they can interact freely without being really judged Of what they know and then that way themselves they can be able even to come with To come up with solutions of the issues that they are facing not only at their homes, but also within their community Yes Well, that's very important because the children do not even understand that they have the rights They have the power to stand and say no, I'm not going to do this I have to go to the government and report it to my chief So it's the lack of information within the communities that makes the parents still be able to do this Because as you said sometimes even the parents do not communicate with each other The father is not aware the child is being sold into doing this And how can we provide help for these societies because there's their rural communities that truly are disconnected from the the Towns and every other perspective of technology and development So how can we help these people who are completely cut off? They have no access to information Education and all these different perspectives that we're talking about How can we help them to be able to understand The impact of what they're doing in time because if they're truly cut off they do not really know the impact They're like oh See it's just that she's already grown up and that's probably a 14 year old who's sleeping with that's prostitution And the impact on her mental health on her psychological even the perspective of men and women How can we provide the aid to to these people to help them understand and see what is the truth? Okay, taking the initiative Weird you get people from that community because they understand the problems They are they are facing with that community better than we are an example somebody comes from karen And another comes from kibra or lunga lunga And then somebody from karen's goes to explain a concept to someone from lunga lunga Will that person really relate it'll be like you're rich So what are you telling you don't know where i'm coming from but if you can Inform this person from lunga lunga that you know what This happens and you can help people in your community when I pass this information to you And then relay this information according to the language the the people within your community can understand That can be a better way to pass information rather than people from the outside from the outside Yeah, so we recruit from those specific communities Who are about to relate from the issues even some who has experienced those issues But they have come out of it successfully on the other end So they can even uh, they they pass the information Even using their real-life examples That is the people will understand and they'll perceive that information better than getting outsiders from Today the same information. That's true. And I think I've seen that those a lady I went to school with And she was advocating against FGM. So she managed to get away from her community She was raised by a foreign aid and eventually she went back to the community to help people understand So I think that's better than you as an outsider coming into the community because you do not truly understand what they deal with day to day Now let's come back to to maybe the the modern society with the Towns and the cities because now we have technology now We have all this information and sometimes it's even the songs Where girls and women are dancing half naked and they're talking about being sexually active men are doing the same thing So how can we help the the young ladies understand that you have to have your morals and being sexually active with every single person Is not the ideal way to live We need a campaign during the 16 days of activism which involved about talking about tech for good So we have access to all this information. That's too much some information that Younger people don't need to access but since it's there in the open then what happens So we should control whatever our children Have to in the internet. Okay, and we should use technology for good So yes give a child ask again if they don't understand the technology and in this era of ai Then they'll be left behind and you'll not be able to catch up and everything is shifting Okay, so yes, let the children access technology But always be there to control and to guide them so that they can use this technology for good Again for people who are receiving harassment and all this their platforms that you can report online You don't have to go physically because people fear that when you show yourself You show up or you go to report a case Maybe you don't have experience or somebody else a friend or somebody closer experience But when you go to report there's a stigma But you know you can leverage on that to report online and then that person or you can receive help So you should always advocate to use technology for good And if the children are younger limit to the access in which they have to the internet Yes And that's very important because you know sometimes it's it's even influence. We we have the conversation of LGBTQ in this day and age where so many people sometimes they're influenced by social media They'll probably see an artist they love who's dressing up It might be a guy. He's dressing up feminine and they're like, okay, this is the trend Sometimes people just want to Identify with the group because of the trend that they perceive is going on online Without truly understanding that there are people who are dealing with this from a perspective of their genetics It's who they were born as so how can we also make that clear? Because these days we have so many youth because of peer pressure They're part of the gay community and then you find a few years later. They've come back So how can we also make this clear to the the children as much as we're advocating for the rights of lgbtq plus And what not how can you make it clear that it's not a choice? This is something that you're possibly born with and help make children Understand what it means to have their sexual identities understanding their sexuality and in terms of lgbtq You're supposed to understand that you're not supposed to stigmatize them because it's a human right They are human beings and as you as a human being you have a right to live the way you are the way you want Because of your body and then you own your own sexuality So when you make the child understand that they should own their own sexuality They should to get to understand who they are Not only physically but also sexually then from there They'll be able to know which path to follow again You should they should also understand that some of these people who are in the lgbtq community. It's not Because of choice. Yes. They're so those who have chosen like yes I want to be a lesbian or gay but there are others who because of the circumstances that they faced when they were young They are the way they are right now. So when you make them understand then they'll be able to choose in which How they want to be their sexual identity they'll be able to choose their sexual orientation How they are sexually and also physically that will be able to determine How your kids turn out to be again parents remember this is a discussion should always engage with your children The more they grow continue advancing the information slowly by slowly and you'll be surprised How kids can understand and perceive information They do understand we think that they don't but they do children are very perceptive And they're very smart because you know, they're getting information from other children Maybe when they're playing around and whatnot. So they're very smart and they will ask questions. They're inquisitive as well So you have to have the right information to help them Get the knowledge and have the information as they progress with their life because out here they will find it on the internet It's better for you to educate them from the house from your home to help them to make the right decisions I also want to you see with our sexuality these days. I feel like we are finding sexuality by ourselves Even as women as much as been there's been the other Women empowerment movement and the girl child being focused on Sometimes there's no focus on the sexuality of what it means to be a woman What it means to be a man and these days I find it very sad because so many men have lost the sense of sexuality Because there's no one to guide them and they're probably learning from wrong Neural models and whatnot because They're probably all lost So how can we help both genders to really understand their sexuality what it means to be a man what it means to be a woman The right understanding of sexuality. How can we do that? Yes, and you are right such that we are finding out who who we are or what you want to be Mostly via social media even sex itself You find that you're not told sex is this is what happens People think that sex is just the action itself, but it's not one it's mental it starts from You mental your mind and then as you build now you come to the action and for you to sustain that sex Until both of you are satisfied you have to be emotionally connected and mentally there At that moment, but you find that most people disconnect the moment you start the act itself So we should people should be taught as early and Yes, we in the 21st century technology is here. We're talking about AI But you see the training that people used to receive when Back in the olden days even as we have not experienced. I'm pretty sure we didn't experience We didn't find that happening But you'll be surprised the things the information you can find in these communities who have still maintained their culture That girls were taught how to be a woman what it entails to be a woman Boys who are taught and through that they got to understand that Relationship is just beyond the sexual or the intimate part. It's more than that It's bigger than that So they wanted to understand and they were able even to play now They are able to play the role as a woman. This is my role. This is what I'm supposed to do as a man This is my role and with the empowerment. Hey women nowadays they've become but They're not told and you know what? Yes, I'm woman. This is me and yeah, but as much as Women are empowered. You also when you go home be empowered out there do what you can Of course at home or so you need to have a say but not to what limit Yes, okay So make sure you play your role as a woman same case to a man Rather that a man is the head of the family But uh, it's 50 50. We are equal. You took me as your wife and so I'm 50 So I'm supposed to contribute 50 in this relationship and also you 50 So you should always your conversations should always be open you discuss everything And then as a man play your role as a man play your role Yeah, and I think what you've said is true. You know women squeezy They have like kibburi and unfortunately most women are operating from their masculine energy Because they want to they've been too I'm sorry to say this but sometimes you think that women are too empowered But we've left behind the boy child So there needs to be understanding on both parts because we all have a role to play It's gender equity so that all of us can be at the same level to understand each other So I think this has been a very informative conversation Perhaps you can give us your parting short and tell us where we can find you on social media As well as the organization because I'm sure there's so many people who are interested in finding out more about this conversation Yeah, thank you. So as I have said These conversations they need to be talked out In families set up even before we go to the teacher to the schools and Blaming the government the conversation needs to start at home Then as we progress comprehensive sex education is important in ski people need to understand their sexuality And you can start passing information To a young kid and let them advance the conversation as they grow. Okay, and what I'll say is One voice can make a difference even when the world is silent So if you have the power if you have the correct information Always make sure you are your voice and as at girls health ed We always make sure you pass correct and right information to this class so that they can make decisions from an informed point Okay, and you can find me on my social medias at valeria bridget at valeria underscore bridget on twitter Facebook Instagram is pretty sherry and then at girls health ed on our social medias platform and kenya social media platforms At girls health ed ke on our social media platforms. Thank you so much for that And as you've said i'm going to echo that this is a conversation that needs to be heard because each and every one of us Experienced this it's the same as spirituality. It's the same as just your physical health Sexual and reproductive health and rights is something that we all need to be aware of I hope you've taken away something from this conversation. I'm really sorry that today I can't sample your comments time is really not on our side But I want to wish you a very merry christmas. I hope you're enjoying your holy days if you have children staying with you I hope you're going to be next week And we will see each other after that if you're traveling have safe travels and enjoy this entire season I hope it's full of blessings and love and a lot of bonding and family time That is it today from y254 tv. This has been the power talk show and my name is sherry blessing