Rebuilding Lives: Albertine's Story

One of the core programs in our health advocacy work at Komera is our Teen Mother program. We train locally-based female mentors to meet with teen mothers in their communities twice a week to support them in health, education, economic empowerment and childcare. The young mothers learn self-acceptance and mentors counsel their families to reconcile conflicts and rebuild trust within the family. Komera uses yoga and meditation as tools for confidence-building and empowerment.

The Komera Leadership Center will provide a space for Komera to grow and enrich this program for teen mothers in the Rwinkwavu community. One of the teen mothers in this program is Albertine.

Komera met Albertine after she had given birth at the age of 15 years old. The birth of her child was a shock to her. "My father has a chronic disease and all our lives depended on my mother,” said Albertine. “My pregnancy was a very big disappointment to her and I had added on her burdens. I felt bad, lost all my esteem and thought everything would come to an end. My mother kept on encouraging and supporting me, but I lost it all.”

After her child turned one, Albertine began selling bananas in the evening market to support her mother. As she began to support herself, her child and her mother, she began to hope but still had issues with self-esteem. “I still saw myself worthless. I kept on blaming myself for adding a burden to my mother, even with my sickly father.”

Albertine says it was the lessons she learned from Komera on self-worth and self-esteem that awakened her capacity and allowed her to see things differently. “I started appreciating every small achievement, including my child and believing in myself.”

Albertine believes the building of the Komera Leadership Center will be important for other teen mothers just like her. “I think this Center will benefit other teen mothers since after giving birth you lose hope. Other girls will be able to join, learn important lessons, and be able to get contraceptives to make choices for themselves.”

With the Komera Leadership Center, we will reach over 25,000 girls over the next 10 years and young women will be able to access peer counseling services, reproductive health education and community advocates escorting young women to referral services.

“I’m a very confident girl, with a bright future together with my child,” Albertine told us. “I am very grateful to Komera for rebuilding me.” We are proud to be a part of Albertine’s story and are delighted she feels we helped her rebuild. Help us build the Komera Leadership Center so we can continue rebuilding lives for girls like Albertine!

“I’m a very confident girl, with a bright future together with my child. I am very grateful to Komera for rebuilding me.”

- Albertine