Irene, Mother & Siblings Children’s AIDS Fund uses World Relief’s Choose Life A and B messages to Youth

Irene Nakitende is 17 years old and lives with her parents, siblings in a mud and wattle house in Wakiso, on the outskirts of Kampala. Her mother rises early each day to till the garden and collect food for the family while Irene and her siblings attend school.

Irene is one of many girls who have attended the ABY Choose Life sessions and affirms that her life has changed for the better. The sessions on assertiveness, communication, abstinence, life skills and being faithful “have changed my life … I learnt the importance of abstaining from sex till I am married and behaving responsibly and acting as a role model I took to a number of my peers about dangers of taking alcohol and use of drugs, getting involved in pre-marital sex and I have seen many of them change their behavior. In my free time, I take time to talk to my young brother and sisters so they could make a choice. At school they call me “Mulokole (born again person) and many come to me for advice.”

Irene remembers a time when all she thought about was escaping from school, going to discos and being stuck into a pattern of disobedience to her parents. When asked what the cause was for such behavior, Irene explains “it is peer influence. Whenever I would see my friends go for discos, I would feel left out. But at school they would sleep in class and when asked [why] they replied ‘we spent the night in a disco’. This had a great impact on my life and the sessions helped me reflect on such behaviors, its worth and outcome”.

I can assure you I am a changed person now. For example, we have just come back from school for Eid (Muslim holiday) celebrations, but I have not gone for discos I have just been in the garden with my mother. This would not have happened before … I felt like dropping out of school because it looked like wastage of time but now I feel I want to be a teacher or a nurse and I have my eyes set on it”.