Elders from across East Africa have called for the revival of traditional community conversations such as the fireside conversations to discuss social values and guide the younger generations.
They said reviving the tradition of elders gathering with young people around evening fires to share knowledge will greatly help to reduce teenage pregnancies.
The elders from Kenya and Uganda spoke during the Kaoi Fireside Conversation, a traditional forum where young people and elders come together to discuss issues affecting their lives and communities.
Monday evening in Nebbi District, Northern Uganda, brought together elders from various chiefdoms and communities from Kenya and Uganda
Cultural leaders were encouraged to revive the practice of bringing young people together in the evenings to discuss culture, relationships, responsibility and social values.
Speaking on behalf of Chief Rwoth Justino Opar, head of Pawong Chiefdom and executive director of the Alur Kingdom, Prince Ochaya Orach Vincent, said fireside gatherings were once an important part of raising young people.
In the Alur community, the tradition is known as Kaoi Pa Aradu (youth fire).
Ochaya said the gatherings provided an opportunity for elders and young people to openly discuss issues that could sometimes be difficult to address within ordinary family settings.
“A gathering like this gives us an opportunity to talk to young people and their parents. What we are saying is that we should work together and continue doing this. This is part of our daily lives and we can make it work,” he said.
The meeting was held as part of the Protect SRHR project that is being implemented by a consortium of civil society organisations including Reach A Hand Africa, the International Rescue Committee, Humanity & Inclusion and World Vision. It is being funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Nebbi mayor Japierwo Ronnie said reviving such gatherings could help communities rebuild the culture of sitting together and discussing challenges affecting young people.
He said the social environment has changed significantly, with young people increasingly exposed to technology and social media.
“It reminds us of what used to happen in the past. It is also important to bring people together because young people today are influenced by modern technology. That is why it is important to have these conversations,” he said.
Japierwo said fireside conversations historically enabled communities to discuss young people's behaviour and were seen as one of the ways of addressing challenges such as teenage pregnancy.
He said among six schools in the area, about two per cent of girls become pregnant each year.
Reach A Hand Africa programme officer in charge of teenage pregnancy and HIV risk Albert Ongom said teen pregnancy remains a major challenge in Uganda and Kenya with serious link to increased vulnerability to HIV infection.
He said the purpose of the fireside conversations was not simply to revive an old cultural practice, but also to understand how communities traditionally addressed challenges facing young people.
Kenya and Uganda have some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the world with Kampala battling a worse scenario.
According to the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 23.5 per cent of girls aged between 15 and 19 had begun childbearing. Of these, 18.4 per cent had already given birth, while 5.1 per cent were pregnant with their first child.
The survey shows by the age of 16, about one in 10 girls aged between 15 and 19 had already begun childbearing.
The situation is almost similar in Kenya one in five girls aged between 15 and 19, roughly 18 per cent, are either pregnant or have given birth.
Poverty, sexual violence and inadequate reproductive health education have been blamed for the growing teenage pregnancy crisis across East Africa.
The elders said the persistence of teenage pregnancies and child marriages has raised questions about what has changed in the way young people are guided.
They believe some of the cultural practices that once helped prepare children for adulthood have weakened over time.
The discussions in Nebbi also sought to identify lessons from the traditional system that could be adapted to today's environment.
Among the challenges raised during the discussions were weak parental involvement in raising children and the limited inclusion of people with disabilities in conversations about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The elders said reviving fireside conversations is an attempt to restore a community space where parents, elders and young people can engage in conversations about issues affecting the lives and future of the younger generation.
