A 30-year-old passionate mother of four, Baraka Hashimu founded and manages a training center for women in her community. Under her tutelage, women learn sewing, knitting, soap-making, bead-making and food catering. She sells the products created by her students in the market and uses the funds to run the training center.
Despite her desire to help fellow women, Baraka never supported the use of modern family planning methods. In fact, fearing side effects like excessive bleeding and infertility, she never considered taking up modern family planning methods herself, even though she wanted to space her children. Rather than risk using family planning, Baraka shied away from having relationships with her husband, which was not making her marital life easy.
One day, when visiting the women’s center in Kaduna, Baraka saw some FP posters and stickers on the walls of a particular office. Curiosity overcame her, so she walked into the office to enquire. Baraka had stepped into the GIWAC office, an organization partnering with NURHI. Helpful social mobilizers there discussed family planning with her, addressing her fears about the modern FP methods, and gave her a ‘Go Referral Card’. Baraka visit the local NURHI supported health facility with this card. After counseling on all available family planning options, she chose to have implants inserted, as she does not want to have another baby anytime soon. This decision has increased intimacy between her and her husband, as she is no longer afraid of an unwanted pregnancy.
Having benefited from this experience, Baraka took this message to the women in her training center. She invited NURHI social mobilizers to discuss family planning with the women in her school and refer them for services. “Go for Family Planning if you do not want to get pregnant rather than having an abortion. Family Planning is a good means of creating a good family relationship,” Baraka fervently advises all.
