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LETTERS<br />
Dear Aunt Silvia,<br />
Aunt Silvia<br />
I am a great fan of yours. Thank you for<br />
your ever encouraging pieces of advice<br />
for the readers. I have recently been<br />
facing a big challenge. I am a single father<br />
with two teenagers, a boy, and girl.<br />
Unfortunately, my wife died of cancer<br />
some five years ago; so I am the one raising<br />
up the kids. Contrary to the family and<br />
friend’s advice, I don’t want to have another<br />
woman in my life – at least not – till my<br />
kids have grown up. Now that my daughter<br />
is reaching the puberty stage, I am worried<br />
and sometimes confused whether to enlighten<br />
her on sex education or just keep quiet, in<br />
view of the fact that such a topic is not<br />
mostly being discussed here in Africa. I feel<br />
uncomfortable when she asks me questions in<br />
that area. What is your advice?<br />
Yours,<br />
Wilson ( Harbel, Liberia)<br />
QUOTES<br />
“Well, it seems to<br />
me that the best<br />
relationships - the<br />
ones that last<br />
- are frequently<br />
the ones that are<br />
rooted in friendship.<br />
You know,<br />
one day you look<br />
at the person and<br />
you see something<br />
more than you did<br />
the night before.<br />
Like a switch has<br />
been flicked somewhere.<br />
And the<br />
person who was<br />
just a friend is...<br />
suddenly the only<br />
person you can<br />
ever imagine yourself<br />
with.”<br />
-Gillian Anderson<br />
Dear Wilson,<br />
Please do accept my condolences on the<br />
death of your wife. Furthermore, you<br />
definitely have my big congratulations on<br />
the giant steps you have taken towards<br />
giving your children the best chance for<br />
their future. You have made a good choice.<br />
Interestingly, you mentioned you have<br />
two teenagers, a boy, and girl, but your<br />
question centered on your daughter; I was<br />
just wondering if you think sex education<br />
is equally not necessary for your son.<br />
Regardless, I do understand your dilemma<br />
– especially in your attempt to satisfy<br />
both the social and cultural demands.<br />
Based on statistics available, the rate of<br />
teenage pregnancy, abortion, venereal<br />
disease is much lower in the Western<br />
world than in Third world countries<br />
like those in Africa – despite the belief<br />
in many quarters that the West is<br />
“spoiled,” especially in view of their<br />
liberal attitude and openness towards<br />
sex. The big question is why do we have<br />
a less teenage pregnancy, abortion etc<br />
in the West than in Africa? In as such<br />
as I am a supporter of African culture,<br />
one must not ignore the obvious realities.<br />
The knowledge they say is power. On the<br />
other hand, ignorance cannot only be<br />
dangerous, it is, to a certain extent, a<br />
big disease. Ignorance creates false belief,<br />
which could be dangerous. Often, many of<br />
our kids are exposed to danger due to lack<br />
of knowledge. You hear about unwanted<br />
pregnancy, sexual advances, intimidations<br />
and deadly abortion practices and so on.<br />
Most of these happen simply because of<br />
limited information or knowledge.<br />
them to make right decisions in life.<br />
Denying them of this vital education can<br />
be counterproductive. On the other hand,<br />
I am not saying you should encourage<br />
your children to be wild. No! Children can<br />
be brought up having good knowledge<br />
of sex education without necessarily<br />
being wayward. Definitely, I know most<br />
daughters (again, as mentioned above,<br />
sex education is not only meant for girls;<br />
boys need it as well) are more comfortable<br />
discussing intimate or sex r-related <strong>issue</strong>s<br />
with their mum, you should, as a single<br />
father, create a relaxed atmosphere<br />
between you and your children, so that<br />
such a discussion will be received without<br />
fear or embarrassment. The worst thing<br />
that could happen is when children hide<br />
things from their parents due to fear.<br />
The same fear could lead them to make<br />
grave mistakes. Encourage them to ask<br />
questions, rather than fearfully taking<br />
an irrational decision that can ruin their<br />
future. For sure, you need to draw a line<br />
between openness and not crossing the<br />
border. Yes, you could be open to your<br />
children to help them not to make wrong<br />
decisions in life, and at the same time,<br />
maintain your African cultural borders.<br />
Good luck, Wilson.<br />
Yours,<br />
Sex education is not only meant<br />
for girls; boys need it as well”<br />
www.katakata.org<br />
I strongly believe children should be<br />
Aunt Silvia<br />
taught sex education in order to empower<br />
NOV 2017 Issue <strong>16</strong> Kata kata cartoon magazine<br />
37
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