“I still want to finish school”

Inside, 21-year-old Elly Tjondu sits on a blanket on the floor, carefully dressing her two-month-old baby in a white fleece babygrow.

Elly’s story is unfortunately one all too common, a story of teenage pregnancy stealing away the chance to learn, grow and pursue a dream.

At just 15, Elly became pregnant for the first time and sadly the baby passed on, but the impact was lifelong. At 18, she gave birth to a healthy daughter, and with support from her parents , she managed to return to school. Her mother looked after the baby whilst she went to school, went home to breastfeed during breaks. 

But last year, at age 20, Elly fell pregnant again. She gave birth to her second child in June this year. This time, due to poverty, her parents asked her to stay home and breastfeed, with the plan that she can return to school in January 2026. Elly is now the mother of two, but she is also still a daughter, and still a young woman with an interrupted dream.

“I should have been in Grade 11 this year,” she says, her voice quiet but certain. “That’s all I want, to go back and finish school.”

Both fathers of her children are still learners, currently in Grade 10 and Grade 11. This detail powerfully illustrates that teenage pregnancy is not solely a ‘girl’s issue. It points to a broader need for strengthened comprehensive sexuality education that actively engages boys and equips them with the knowledge and sense of responsibility to prevent early pregnancies

The Tjondu family outside their home in Alpha Village, united in love and resilience despite daily challenges. 

“We forgave her.”

Elly lives with her parents, Kaukondua and Uandende Tjondu, and her siblings in their small homestead in Alpha Village. Another of their daughters also gave birth recently, and her baby is just over a year old. Elly’s mother, Uandende, also gave birth this year. With several young children in the household, the family faces significant caregiving and financial pressures

“Yes, we were hurt,” Uandende says. “But we forgave her. She is our child. We can’t throw her away.”

Her face is tired, but her voice is gentle. “We told her to be strong now, to take care of her baby, and that she can go back to school next year when the baby is older. We forgave her, but this is the consequence.”

There is no stable income in the household. Elly’s father, Kaukondua, is a welder who picks up small jobs from neighbours when he can, fixing tools, doors, gates, and more.

“I try,” he says, standing by his tools. “But work is not always there. I do what I can.”

When asked whether he’s confronted the families of the boys who fathered his grandchildren, he shakes his head.

“I haven’t gone to them,” he says. “It’s not easy. In our Himba culture, when there is no marriage, you don’t go to the boy’s family.”

He pauses. “But also, they are still children. They don’t work. What can they really do? I just focus on what I can, looking after my grandchildren.”

Barriers beyond stigma

Elly’s struggle to return to school goes beyond judgment or disapproval. Distance and poverty weigh heavily. The nearest clinic is 15 kilometres away in Opuwo, and without transport, basic services like postnatal care or contraception are out of reach.

“I wanted to get contraceptives after my second child,” she says, “but if you don’t have money for a taxi, you just stay at home.”

Still, Elly remains hopeful. “I want to go back to school. I want to work and raise my children well. I want them to have more opportunities than I did.”

Namibia’s Education Sector Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy protects learners’ right to education, allowing them to remain in school during pregnancy and return within a year after giving birth.

Yet for many girls in Kunene, this right is hard to realise. The region has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the country, with more than one in five girls becoming pregnant before adulthood, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Long distances to health facilities, limited access to a broad range of contraceptives , and gendered power dynamics around contraceptive decision-making all contribute to the problem.

To address this, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Namibia supports the government by building the capacity of teachers to deliver comprehensive, life skills-based sexuality education, and by training healthcare workers on provision of adolescent friendly health services including provision of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). UNFPA also advocates to the government to strengthen access to a broad range of contraceptive options for adolescents and young people, especially in underserved areas.