The Alur Kingdom has called for the revival of traditional youth fireside gatherings as a cultural solution to the escalating teenage pregnancy crisis in the kingdom.
The call is part of the kingdom’s Kura Matira project, an ancient Alur philosophy grounded in community, humanness, caring and good conduct, which the kingdom is now using to restore lost cultural values among the youth.
Under the initiative dubbed “ending child and forced marriage through returning to the fire place”, the kingdom has been holding community dialogue sessions in chiefdoms.
Kingdom officials say modern distractions and loss of parental guidance have left girls vulnerable. Traditionally, the fireplace was a place where grandparents and aunts taught adolescents about virginity, faithfulness, reproductive health and good conduct.
Speaking at a youth fireside held at Kaal Pawong Palace, the Deputy Prime Minister and Executive Director of Alur Kingdom, Prince Ochaya Orach Vincent, underscored the relevance of firesides in addressing teenage childbirth.
The fireside, dubbed “Kaoi Fireside Conversations”, is an initiative of the Protect SRHR project implemented by a consortium of civil society organisations, including Reach A Hand Africa, the International Rescue Committee, Humanity and Inclusion and World Vision, supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The engagement, presided over by Chief Rwoth Justino Opar, the Chief of Pawong Chiefdom, was held on September 22, 2026 under the theme “Culture, Identity and Power to Shape Young People’s Future.”
“A session like this one allows us to speak to young people together with their parents,” Prince Ochaya said. “Actually, if we can have even more of it, I can tell you I have all 56 chiefdoms that would benefit from Kaoi.”
Nebbi Municipality Central Division LCIII chairperson Ronnie Japiemo said such engagements previously helped address behaviour, which contributed to lower levels of teenage pregnancy. He said on average, at least two per cent of girls become pregnant every year across the six schools in the Central Division.
“The fireplace is a good intervention but most of our youth have taken the fireplace for a simple ride which calls for more cultural engagement with the youths due to the modern leisure places available today,” Japiemo said.
Albert Ongom, Reach A Hand Africa’s programme officer in Nebbi District, said teenage pregnancy remains a significant concern in the district and is also linked to increasing HIV risks.
He said the engagement was intended to understand how communities around Kaal Pawong traditionally handled issues affecting young people and what lessons could be drawn from those practices.
Onyuthi Brian, a youth participant, said some young people find it difficult to listen to their parents because of the manner in which some conversations are handled.
According to the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 23.5% of girls aged 15-19 had already begun childbearing, with 18.4% having had a live birth and 5.1% pregnant with their first child.