As we celebrate the International Women’s Day, 2015, Reach A Hand, Uganda will host Tiwatope Savage-Balogun (Tiwa Savage), a celebrated Nigerian female singer-songwriter, recording artist, performer and actress who has graced many international stages. Tiwa is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador as well as RAHU 2015 Cultural Icon.
“Life is about planning ahead, so if you as a young person do not plan for parenthood, you will always be dependent on other people and unable to break out of the cycle of poverty. It is not good to keep on being helpless – we have to take responsibility for our lives.” said Tiwatope Savage-Balogun (Tiwa Savage).
RAHU reaches out to young people with knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) as well as HIV. We are a dynamic team of young people who advocate for a change in cultural norms that limit access to SRHR information.
With the help of Cultural Icons, RAHU has been able to work on musical projects to communicate SRHR information to the youth, like Your Ways, If Its Not On Its Not Safe and Kaleke Kasome Remix among others.
Working with Tiwa Savage our newest Cultural Icon during her stay in Uganda to commemorate International Women’s Day , we believe will enable us to reach more young people who look up to her and enjoy her music to raise awareness on this challenging issue of Teenage Pregnancy. Our message to the youth is simply, “Delay sex or use contraceptives if you really have to have sex”, also highlighting that Teenage Pregnancy is not a girls issue but one that affects each and everyone one of us. You can join or follow the conversation on social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook) using our our trending hashtag #LetGirlsLead.
“Our goal is to influence youth to make informed choices in life, so we find people of good repute that they look up to and work with them,” said Humphrey Nabimanya, Team Leader- Reach A Hand Uganda. Research shows that condoms are an effective method for preventing transmission of STDs and pregnancy, and that making contraceptives, including condoms, available to youth does not increase sexual activity or risk taking.
Watch out for upcoming musical projects with Tiwa!