Celebrating an Extraordinary Mother this Mother's Day
"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." - Tenneva Jordan
Jackie (left) and her daughter and SEGA Alumna Rose (right)
Being a mother or a maternal figure is often seen as the hardest job in the world. The selfless acts and love they provide are the cornerstones of many individuals, families, communities, and societies. As we celebrate mothers and maternal figures this Mother’s Day, we are excited to highlight an extraordinary SEGA mother who is changing the lives of young mothers in Tanzania.
Jackie Leonard Bombama’s story is one of incredible strength, perseverance, and love. After losing her parents as an infant, Jackie faced many hardships growing up. She became pregnant at 15 and, without the support of her adopted family or the man responsible, had to learn how to navigate motherhood on her own. As a young, single mother, she got a job as a maid cleaning houses and credits an employer and their family for taking an interest in her and helping with her schooling. Jackie earned a college certificate in community development and made it a personal mission to show “decision makers” the value in educating and supporting young mothers and vulnerable girls. She was also determined to make sure her young daughter, Rose, never had to go through what she went through. Therefore, the Young Strong Mothers Foundation was officially founded in 2015.
The Young Strong Mothers Foundation (YSMF) provides support to Morogoro and its surrounding communities through: 1) Supporting adolescent girls in and out of school with educational materials, school uniforms, sexual and reproductive health rights awareness, life-skills training, and gender-based violence awareness, and 2) Identifying, training, and connecting the most vulnerable young mothers with various opportunities. From teaching business and job skills to offering one-on-one and group counseling, Jackie and her team are getting adolescent girls the skills and resources they need to not only survive, but thrive.
As Jackie states, “If we all tend to be blind on young mothers and ignore [the need] to invest in this group, we should prepare for other crises, such as the increase of street children. Young mothers get fed up and tired, so they decide to abandon their children.” She points out that this increases gender-based violence and that they run out of options and ownership of their bodies due to poverty. Many turn to sex work for survival, increasing the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases - on top of the possibility of getting pregnant all over again. YSMF identified and helped 1,302 vulnerable, young mothers in 2020, as well as educating young men and boys in gender-based violence and reproductive health awareness. They offer courses in tailoring, cooking, carpeting, and electricity, as well as providing psycho-social support to all 1,302 young mothers. YSMF recently established a day care center in their offices and conducted 20 sessions on COVID-19 awareness and prevention to 500 young mothers. Jackie credits her team for continuing her vision: Prisila (Program Officer), Monica (Head of Social and Economic Empowerment), Ester (Secretary), Hawa (Day Care Trainer), Madam Ester (Tailoring Trainer), and her daughter, Rose, who supervises all the school programs as Head of Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy.
With SEGA’s commitment to helping vulnerable girls, it is no surprise that Jackie felt like her opportunity to send Rose there in 2020 was “heaven sent.” Rose joined SEGA in 2020 for her Form 4 year from the Mandera Girls Secondary School and says of her experience, “For the first time in my life I felt safe, loved, and protected in a place where my mother is not around.” She is continuing all she learned from her mom through SEGA’s Msichana wa Kisasa (Modern Girl) Community Outreach Program. The Modern Girl program uses SEGA graduates as peer mentors for girls in communities throughout Tanzania. The program delivers key messages to vulnerable girls, ages 10-18, in sexual reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, hygiene, assertive communication, girls’ rights, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. The Modern Girl program has continued to operate through COVID-19 with safety protocols and measures; masks and soap were also prepared and given to all Modern Girl mentors and mentees.
On top of her work with Modern Girl and YSMF, Rose also enjoys studying science and dreams of becoming an Anatomist. Jackie credits her daughter Rose with changing her life and being “the best gift” she has ever received, and she is grateful to all those who helped support, educate, and raise her. Her advice to Rose growing up was that we all make mistakes but instead of blaming and shutting people out, use each mistake as “an opportunity to rebuild what you lost and every bad experience as a tool to change, advocate, and shape others.” Jackie’s perseverance and dedication to better her life for both herself and her daughter epitomizes the strength and selflessness of a mother’s love.
Jackie hopes her personal story, experiences, and the Foundation serve as weapons to empower, influence, and inspire adolescent girls and teenage mothers to become strong women - something SEGA knows a little something about.
Happy Mother’s Day!
To learn more information about the Young Strong Mothers Foundation, go to https://ysmf.or.tz, email info@ysmf.or.tz, or follow them on Facebook at Young Strong Mothers Foundation Morogoro.
