EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME ADOLESCENTS

Adolescent: Good morning madam, please I have a problem.

Madam: What is it about?

Adolescent: I don’t know my parents; I grew up to find myself with some relatives who claim I’ve been with them since age 5. At the moment I am 17years old. I have passed the BECE Exams and have got a school but my guardians say they don’t have money to see me through S.H.S, so I should sit in the house. Even when benevolent people offer to help me my guardian refuses and insults me for disclosing my problems to them. Please help me.

Madam: What is the relation between you and your guardian?

Adolescent: He says she’s my Auntie

Madam:  Has your mother or father ever visited you in the house?

Adolescent: No!

Madam: Why?

Adolescent: They don’t know where we are now. They knew the old place but not this one.

Madam: Don’t you go for holidays?  Haven’t you been taken or given the direction to the place?

Adolescent: No! My guardian always says that the village is in a bush so she can’t go there.

Madam: How do you think I can help you?

Adolescent: Please I want you to talk to them so that they can allow me to go to school. All my friends are in school and I am still in the house. They said if I continue to S.H.S I will not even know them when I complete school, so they won’t waste their money on me.

Madam: Would you like me to discuss this with your guardian?

Adolescent: Madam no, no, they will insult me and beat me.

Madam: Ok, I’ll see what I can do.

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Interview Two

Adolescent: Madam I you to help me, please.

Madam: O.k. What is it?

Adolescent: My mother is dead and my father asked me to go and stay with a cetain woman since he is out of business because he is not well and is spending all his money on drugs.

I’ve been with this woman for 2years. This woman has a son at the Senior High School, and I am in the Junior High School. At times when her son comes back from school he forces me to have sex with him, and tells me not tell his mother otherwise he will beat me and his mother will sack me form the house. One day I got annoyed and told his mother about it. To my surprise the woman warned me seriously and told me never to mention it to anybody but don’t I know I’m disgracing her family and that what will his son do with a dirty girl like me.
Another time, I reported the same problem to a well known friend of hers and my father, so she collected all the things she has bought for me and burnt them and sacked me from the house.
Now I’m with my father and we are struggling to get even one meal a day.

Madam: Don’t worry, I’ll go home with you and have a chat with your father.

Another time on phone with Adolescent’s father

Madam: Hello sir, your daughter reported a case of sexual assault yesterday. What can you tell us about it?

Father: Well, I’m very much aware of it and I really share my daughter’s plight but the woman in question has done much for me that I don’t even know what to say or do about this unfortunate situation. Please I’ll get back to you later.

End of story.