This visit comes after the Taung Sub-District Hospital has a rise in teenagers who give birth and go to the hospital for Choice of Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP).
"We saw it necessary to call this meeting because our children are sexually active", are the words of Motsemme Secondary School Principal Boitumelo Ntehelang.
The departments’ met with parents and learners of Marubiseng and Motsemme Secondary Schools to discuss solutions to fight these social ills.
“We are not here to teach, but to get your thoughts & suggest what could be done to reduce teenage pregnancy rates, said Charlotte Chauke, a nurse from Taung Hospital
Chauke encouraged parents to create a relationship with their children so they can open up to them about sex topics: “Many parents do not make room for their children to talk about sex & contraceptives", and that's where the problem lies,” she said.
Some parents suggest that contraceptives must be compulsory because these children have all the information and resources to prevent falling pregnant. However, they still get pregnant to substance abuse and peer pressure.
Furthermore, learners acknowledged the role teachers and parents play in their lives. "We are not at our worst behaviour, and I don't think you put us under pressure. But, you are moulding us to be better people of tomorrow”, said a learner from Marubising Secondary, Boitshoko Orapeleng.
Orapeleng said that parents must discipline their children at home and that teenagers must retract from all the bad things they involve themselves in, such as alcohol and smoking.
