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It’s better to be safe than sorry To be honest most people find it misguiding and it probably is because kids in school have no business engaging in sexual acts of whatever type. However, much as we hate to admit it, most of these kids are adolescents and the hard truth is that they will most likely be engaging in those very things we so solemnly fear. Every parent will like their kid to be a virgin until they are at least 30 years old or something, but sadly, that is not the case. The era we live in will not let them stretch that far. They have too much insight into the whole thing that adults are powerless to stop them. The internet in addition to movies has been of major influence to these kids. Teachers are not watchdogs that will follow these kids around night and day and this also goes for parents too. It gets to that point when they have to let go of this hope that these kids will be responsible with themselves. It’s called trust. Perhaps the more the trust, the more the need to be responsible. Who knows? Schools providing condoms to students have resorted to playing it safe by distributing condoms because let us face it; they will engage (well at least some of them) in forbidden acts! However, the last thing any parent needs is their teenage daughter coming home with ‘a bun in the oven.’ It is always worse for girls because they are the ones who carry the burden and shame of a teenage pregnancy around. Moreover, the second that baby is conceived there is no turning back. What is done is done because abortion is illegal and in humane. I do not think there is a parent insane enough to send his or her own child to some abortionist. Besides, what have we learned from abortions? That people die having them so who would want to take that risk? To put it concisely, condoms reduce the risk of getting pregnant or worse contracting diseases like gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS. Now with the latter that is surely the worst that could happen. The problem is that people are more scared of getting pregnant than getting AIDS! It is the truth and reality. Pregnancy is always what they worry about first. Sure, it is no fun at all having a pregnant child but to me it seems lighter than having a dead one. Whereas it is bad in the sense that children will think it is okay to have sex before they are married or old enough, the goodness about this is that they will know that those condoms were given to them for a reason. If they are properly educated about this matter other than just have condoms thrown at them, they may find themselves abstaining or at least using the condoms that were given to them. It is the ugly truth and not many are willing to face it but we just have to consider the possibility that more kids are having sex these days instead of pretending not to know and then fight with the consequences. Moreover, if this is the way to get through to them or at least salvage a fraction of hope, then so be it. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry. rachelgaruka@yahoo.co.uk