Timor-Leste’s Teen Mothers Desperate to Return to School

When my family found out that I was pregnant, my uncle, a teacher at my school, asked my parents to take me out of school. If I continued my studies then I would have embarrassed my school,” says 18-year-old Juliana, who became pregnant at the age of 15.

Unmarried, Juliana lives with her parents in a remote part of Aileu district, just south of Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. Her daugher is now 2 years old, and Juliana is expecting a second child. Her biggest regret? Not finishing school.

“I don’t have the opportunity anymore to develop myself like other young people. I just stay at home and give my time to my children," she says.

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