Orlando Ringrose takes a break from his assignment. - photos by Sonia Mitchell
While many pregnant schoolgirls bear the burden of stigma and financial difficulties, the consensus is that teenage dads-to-be get off scot-free. But at least one prospective father is trying to change the stereotype of the 'slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am' deadbeat dad.
Orlando Ringrose, 18, said he struggles daily to support his unborn child, as the girl he got pregnant is still in school. Her family is still in the dark about the situation.
Ringrose's relatives, however, know about his dilemma. When his mother, who resides overseas, found out about the pregnancy, she was furious, but advised him to get a job to maintain both child and mother, he said.
Ringrose argued that even though school-age dads generally got a bad rap in society, he would try his hand at virtually anything to survive.
$6,000 per week
Currently, he works at a furniture shop in downtown Kingston, taking home a pay cheque of $6,000 per week. Despite his mother's initial disappointment, she chips in monthly with remittances of US$200 (J$17,600). But Ringrose, the youngest of 12 children for his father, says he still has his eyes on a better-paying job in the future.
"Right now I am just doing the good I can in Jamaica for I know that there is better to come," he told The Gleaner.
In his short life, he has learnt the ropes of the Jamaican 'hustler' - the consummate journeyman who lives largely hand-to-mouth off odd jobs. For Ringrose, anything from masonry to assisting his cousin in his electronics business has helped to pay the bills.
He was expelled from Penwood High School in December 2007, when he had a confrontation with his mathematics teacher. The confrontation escalated and he was given marching orders. He has not yet passed any overseas examination subjects.
Cab driver
"Right now, I want to get my TRN (taxpayer registration number) and NIS (National Insurance Scheme) card, because my cousin living in Canada is planning to buy me a car to run a taxi to help me out," he told The Gleaner.
Fearing that the future of his pregnant girlfriend, an 'A' student, was in jeopardy, the escape hatch of abortion had crossed his mind, he said. She dismissed the idea.
Ringrose's knee-jerk reaction is common among many young persons saddled with an unplanned pregnancy. Social and financial challenges only add to the crisis. Abortion is a controversial issue which has strained the fault line between liberal and conservative Jamaicans. Figures on abortion in Jamaica are sketchy, but estimates suggest that illegal pregnancy terminations run into the hundreds per year.
Planning for the baby
Ringrose, who currently supports his own father, who is unemployed, says he has ambitions to attend evening classes to get his academic stripes but the impending responsibility of fatherhood weighs heavily on his mind. For now, his focus is on working and planning for the baby.
Teen mothers have their share of struggles. Tiffany Young, 19, said she is forced to depend on her family for support as the child's father is a non-factor in their lives. He has a low-paying job at a wholesale store and has more than one mouth to feed. At 21, he already has another child from a previous relationship.
Other teen moms like Michelle Drysdale and Denise Clarke, both 17 and out of school, told The Gleaner that they, too, had to quarrel with their babyfathers to get money for the kids.
Dr Glenda Simms, gender specialist, said many teen dads had no way of supporting themselves or their children, because of unemployment. The added pressure of societal expectations of being breadwinners could not be discounted, Simms said.
"It is the popular belief that men are still expected to pull their weight and support their women, and they are under serious pressure.
"But we need to advise teen dads not to have children that they cannot afford to maintain," Simms told The Gleaner.
She also recommended that community groups embark on programmes to discourage young men from engaging in promiscuity and focus their energies on income generation and career-building.
"Many don't have the educational level to demand the job best suited for qualifications, as we are living in a jobless economy and there are no jobs for those who have qualifications, much less teen dads," said Simms.
More counselling
Professor Barry Chevannes, anthropologist and former spokesman for Fathers Incorporated, suggested that more counselling programmes be established to help orient teens to fatherhood.
Though there has been a decline in teen pregnancies in recent years, the phenomenon still poses major challenges, particularly among groups on the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder.
Statistics provided by the Family Planning Board revealed that in 2007 there were 7,495 births to teenagers, a 6.4 per cent decline over the 2006 figure of 8,010. The Corporate Area accounted for the majority of cases, followed by St Catherine and Manchester.
sonia.mitchell@gleanerjm.com
Orlando hard at work, to ensure that he has funds for his family.
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