Photos: Teen girl Juggles between School Exams and Her Twin



Recently released figures showed that a shocking 6% of female students got pregnant in a single year at a school in South Africa's Limpopo province. The BBC's Pumza Fihlani went to investigate.


He met a 17-year-old Kholofelo Moholola, she was holding her two six-month-old babies, one in each arm, trying to comfort them.

It is feeding time and they are restless.

Kholofelo was one of 27 girls who became pregnant in the same year at the Molautsi Secondary School - out of 438 female pupils aged between 15 and 19.

The young mother describes her children as "the most precious diamonds". But life is hard.

I have to make something of my life for the sake of my children."

Kholofelo Moholola

She lives in the village of Blood River near Polokwane, the main city in Limpopo, which is a rural and sparsely populated province where poverty runs deep.

Kholofelo's unemployed 35-year-old mother and her 53-year-old grandmother have to look after the children while she is at school.

'They are innocent'


Hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the South Africa are currently writing their school-leaving exams.

Kholofelo has to cope with these vital tests while juggling feeds, sleep, seemingly endless cries and nappy changes.

She is also grieving the unexpected loss of one of the triplets she gave birth to - she now refers to the living pair as "the twins".

"I need to do well in school; I have to make something of my life for the sake of my children. They are innocent. I owe them a good life," she says, her eyes welling up.

But the chances of a good life seem slim.

Their father is a 19-year-old fellow student. He has no financial means to help look after the children, and has to rely on the good graces of family members.

Driving through the province, I see young people milling around on the streets, many in school uniform.

Authorities say because of the lack of after-school activities to keep them occupied, alcohol and sex become easy escapes.

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