Prison Officer Starts Football Club to Curb Teenage Pregnancy

In many people’s eyes, police officers are seen as unwelcoming individuals who may not offer any assistance beyond enforcing law and order.  For John Baraka a prison police officer at Ruiru Prison and  Founder of Gitothua Starlets in Ruiru, Kiambu County the story is different.

The 34 year old father of one uses sports to curb teenage pregnancy and drug use among young girls within Ruiru sub county.

Through his weekly  program John' s football club  together with  sister organization known as Vijana Amani Pamoja have teamed together to offer mentorship to girls  in school especially secondary schools within Ruiru sub county through sports.

"Teenage pregnancy within Kiambu county is alarming, currently  Ruiru is leading in teenage pregnancies due to high rate of poverty and parents  negligence " says  John Baraka founder of Gitothua Starlets Football Club.

According to the officer, He  started the initiative after  his  sisters dropped out of school due to early pregnancy.
"My sisters dropped out of school due to early pregnancy , our first born dropped out while in form two ,that broke my heart and currently she is an activist of teenage pregnancy.." says John

In 2018 Baraka started a ladies football club named Gitothua starlets which is currently top in the FKF Central regional league with an aim of rescuing girls from drugs and substance abuse leading to teenage pregnancy.

"I started the club when former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu started  the initiative of eradicating illicit brew (Fagia pombe haramu ) in Kiambu county,  girls are victims of illicit brew ,this is  because lack of knowledge ,poverty and lack of role models in the society" . he added

Apart from that, negligence from parents has contributed to teenage pregnancy, and most parents are not concerned with the welfare of their children, especially girls .

"There is a lady who plays for my team ,she got pregnant while in form one ,after giving birth she came and apologized , I took the initiative of taking her back to school but her  parents showed no effort ,today she is a drop out with no hopes of going back to her studies”. Says John.

As a trained police officer and head coach ,he has managed to rescue several girls from early pregnancy through the help of the Deputy County commissioner Ruiru sub county , Sub County Director of Education  and Sub County Teachers Service  Director alongside Local Administration .

So far his club, Gitothua Starlets has produced  players who have  played  for the   under 20 national team.

"Am proud of the initiative under Gitothua Starlet football club,  I have seen number of girls who has have reformed and joined national team, the recent one been Lucy Kisaga who plays for Kibera Soccer Girls Football Club ,she has managed to play for Harambee Starlets under 20, right now she is independent and she comes back to offer mentorship as was of giving back to the society"

Kitawa Kadoka a 25-year-old player at Gitothua Starlets and a recovering drug abuse substance is currently a physiotherapist and fitness instructor as well as a student at Nairobi Zoezi Institute , says Gitothua starlets brought hope into her life after she met coach Baraka through a friend.



"I joined Gitothua Starlets back in 2018, I was an alcoholic ,immediately I joined , coach Baraka  started offering mentorship  , he could call me for training sessions,whenever I could not show up , he could personally reach out to  find out what was happening , after few days of hard work and effort  I was made the captain of Gitothua starlets" . says Kitawa

" The role brought changes in my life, you see by 22 years old I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know myself, I was just lost in drunkenness, I had lost hope,  but after been made a captain, that  brought in maturity and sense of belonging to the society, everything changed ,I  viewed myself differently"  Added Kitawa with a big smile on her face.

Immediately after joining the football club, Kitawa who doubles up as a mentor to the girls in the  club joined Tatu City Training Academy through the help of the coach and pursued plumbing and later pursued a course in refereeing for one  month.

"it's through Gitothua Starlets under coach Baraka that I went back to school, to me Gitothua Starlets is family ,through him and the  club that I felt a sense of family and belonging ,I will forever be grateful to Baraka for  holding my hand not only as a coach but as a father" says Kitawa

According to Kitawa, a high number of teenage pregnancy is caused by  negligence from parents , unavailability of parents has caused most young girls to indulge in  alcohol  and use of drug substances.

" we use sports to bring girls  together and offer some mentorship , we give them hope and guidance on how to avoid drug use , " says Kitawa

Kitawa hopes that one day early pregnancies and use of drug substances among  teenagers especially young girls will  come to an end and young ladies  will get a chance  to pursue their dreams to their  fullest , she however calls support from the government and various stakeholders to offer any support to aid in  eradicating the menace.

"If I had someone to give me some guidance at a young age , today I could be having masters in physiotherapy ,but I am grateful where I am today  ,I can now take care of my needs and myself, " added Kitawa with a smile on her face .

Apart from offering a mentorship program, John and his team buy food because many come from underprivilleged families 

John now calls for support from various stakeholders and  well-wishers to support him in  carrying the initiative on day to day basis .
"Most of  the time I use my own resources and teams resources to run the program each and every Monday and Friday, I  am appealing to well-wishers to come and support the program with the little they have ,this will go a long way in eradicating teenage pregnancy and use of drugs and substance abuse among young girls within the sub county " Says  John.