When Nancy became pregnant at 17, fear was her constant companion.
Living in Tassia, a dense urban settlement in Kenya, she remembers the moment clearly, not because of joy, but because of the silence that followed. School suddenly felt out of reach. Conversations with adults were filled with judgement. Friends her age drifted away. At home and in the community, whispers replaced support.
Accessing reproductive health services was another battle. Clinics felt hostile. Questions were met with scolding. Confidentiality was never guaranteed. Nancy worried that seeking help would only expose her to more shame. With no stable income, even paying for basic services was impossible. Like many girls in her community, she felt trapped, young, pregnant, and alone.
A Conversation That Changed Everything
Nancy first heard about Tiko through a mobiliser from her own community.
Unlike others, the mobiliser did not judge her. Instead, she listened. She spoke to Nancy about avoiding a second pregnancy, staying HIV free, and rebuilding her sense of self. For the first time since becoming pregnant, Nancy felt seen, not as a problem, but as a young woman with a future.
She joined Tiko as a Rafiki, one of the girls and young women supported to access free, safe, and confidential health services.
Through Tiko, Nancy accessed free contraception, HIV testing, and prevention counselling – services she had avoided before because of cost and fear of mistreatment. What stood out most was how she was treated. The clinics were youth-friendly. Conversations were private. No one shamed her for her age or her choices.
That respect built trust.
“Tiko gave me confidence,” Nancy recalls. “I could ask questions without fear. I could go for services knowing my information would stay with me.”
After her first pregnancy, Nancy understood the importance of preventing another pregnancy and wanted to delay having more children. However, at the time, her life was still shaped by instability, limited decision-making power, and pressure within her relationship.
Nancy was not consistent with her contraceptive use.
This was not due to lack of information, but because of the realities many young women face like irregular access to services, fear of being discovered by a partner who is against the use of contraceptives, and the emotional strain of navigating motherhood at a young age. At times, returning to the clinic felt overwhelming. At others, she felt she did not have full control over reproductive decisions in her relationship.
As a result, Nancy became pregnant again within a year.
The second pregnancy was deeply discouraging. She felt she had ‘failed’, even though the circumstances around her had not fully changed. Soon after, she left the Tiko programme and spent a year without structured support.
But even during that time, the lessons stayed with her.
She had learned about family planning, HIV prevention, and the importance of making informed decisions. She had also experienced something rare in her community: a system that worked for young people, not against them.
Returning with Purpose
In 2022, the same mobiliser who had first introduced Nancy to Tiko reached out again, this time with a referral to Sisbro of Zion Foundation, a community-based organisation partnering with Tiko. The opportunity was different now. Nancy was invited to return as a mobiliser.
Her lived experience became her strength.
She understood the fear of teenage pregnancy, the risk of HIV, and girls’ vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence. She knew how poverty pushed girls into unsafe relationships and early marriages. And she knew what it meant to want help but not know where to turn.
Why Nancy Believes in Tiko
What gave Nancy lasting confidence in Tiko was its integrated approach.
Tiko did not treat health issues in isolation. Through one platform, young people could access family planning, HIV services, mental health support, and referrals for sexual and gender-based violence. At the same time, partnerships with CBOs like Sisbro of Zion connected girls to skills training, mentorship, and income opportunities.
For Nancy, this integration changed everything.
“You don’t just help a girl avoid pregnancy,” she explains. “You help her stay healthy, feel safe, and believe she can be something.”
Today, Nancy is a tailoring student at Brigham College and a mobiliser in her community. She earns income, supports her children, and mentors girls walking the same path she once did.