Chikwawa, MALAWI — “Some of the mistakes I made as a teenager could have been avoided if I had known then what I know now,” says Mercy Nzotola, 23, from Chimbamila Village in Chikwawa.

When she was 19, Mercy fell in love for the first time, with a boy her age from the same community. It was all new to her. Everything she thought she knew about relationships came from friends and whispers among peers.

“I was doing well in school,” she recalls, “but peer pressure got the better of me. My friends would laugh at me because I didn’t have a boyfriend.”

What began as excitement slowly became overwhelming. Mercy started losing focus in class. Her grades slipped. Some days, she skipped school altogether.

Then she found out she was pregnant.

“I had to drop out,” she says.

The news devastated her parents. As the firstborn in a family of five, Mercy carried their biggest hopes. They had dreamed of seeing her finish school and go on to university. Hurt and disappointed, they considered sending her away to marry the boy responsible.

“I begged them to let me stay,” Mercy explains. “I told them I still wanted to go back to school.”

Thankfully, her parents listened. She remained at home, caring for her baby and determined that her story would not end there.

While at home, Mercy heard about youth-friendly health services offered at Ngabu Health Centre, a place where young people could access sexual and reproductive health information and services, including family planning. Curious but nervous, she decided to go.

I was hesitant at first. I was the only one in the group with a child. I thought I would feel out of place

But she didn’t. The other young people welcomed her warmly. On that first visit, she says, she learned things that could have completely changed her life if she had known them earlier.

Every Thursday, more than 100 young people gather at the Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) facility at Ngabu Health Centre. They come for information, counselling, and services that help them make informed decisions about their health and their futures.

Through the Empowered project, funded by the Government of Canada, UNFPA is supporting Chikwawa District Hospital to expand access to sexual and reproductive health services for young people in communities around the facility and beyond.

Since December 2025, the district health office has conducted outreach services in 42 hard-to-reach communities, bringing these essential services closer to those who might otherwise miss out.

Today, Mercy is not just a beneficiary, she is an advocate. A regular member of the youth-friendly services group, she also supports outreach activities. She openly shares her story to help other girls avoid early pregnancy.

“We have good services here,” she says, “but many girls are still getting pregnant. There are so many misconceptions about condoms and family planning. That’s why I speak out. I’ve lived the consequences of poor choices.”

Her child is now two years old. And Mercy is ready to return to school.

“I never gave up on my dream,” she says with quiet confidence. “One day, I will become a nurse.”

Yet as she looks ahead, many of her peers remain caught in the cycle of teenage pregnancy.

Daiton Ntiwa, the Youth Friendly Health Services provider at Ngabu Health Centre, has witnessed this reality up close for years.

“It breaks my heart,” he says, “when girls as young as 15 come here for antenatal care.”

That is why, through the Empowered project, the team has intensified outreach efforts to reach young people in remote communities. They are also exploring school-based awareness sessions.

“Community outreach is helping us reach many young people,” he explains. “But schools are where we can make the biggest difference. We won’t be offering services there, just information. We want students to know that these services exist and that they can come to us to protect themselves from teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.”

For Mercy, that information came later than she would have liked, but not too late to change her path.

Joseph Scott, Communications Specialist