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Nancy, a 20-year-old college student started dating her first boyfriend just two weeks before Valentine’s Day. They were getting acquainted to each other and when he asked her to visit him at home on Valentine’s Day, she was elated to celebrated her first Valentine with someone she felt affectionate to.
“I was totally innocent. I did not see it coming,” she says of the events that followed when they two met for the dinner date.
“Everything went on well and the mood was good. We cuddled and he gave me my first kiss. I was totally carried away. I knew what would follow next and so I asked him if he had a condom. That is how I broke my virginity,” she confesses.
Even though Nancy does not think she made a right move as she hardly knew this guy then, she thanks God that at least they used protection.
She notes that at such an age when HIV and Aids is rampant among the youth, it would be suicidal to have sex with someone you hardly know without using protection.
The sexual temptation among the young is real as this is the time they experiment with their fantasies. From going out on a simple date, to cuddling and kissing, as much as many argue that showing affection does not necessarily lead to sex, the danger of getting sexually involved becomes real. The outcome depends on many factors.
“Having multiple partners is crazy and that is one thing that should be out of the topic. But if you have multiple partners, one night stands and other sexual arrangements, the least you can do is use protection. Prevention is better than cure,” said sensational Teen Republik host, Tracy Muthoni during a past interview with Pulse.
Muthoni confessed to Pulse that she met her first love in high school but there was no sex involved. She resisted the temptation and abstained. The furthest she went was a kiss.
“It (kiss) was nice because I wanted to do it for the longest time but it was short like two seconds,” she told Pulse during the interview.
The young beauty is one of the few youthful TV hosts who command a big following from young people. Before she came to the show, another equally vibrant presenter Anita Nderu was not shy to discuss sex issues surrounding the youth. She even came out saying that her first kiss was when she was turning 25.
“My first kiss was great. I was turning 25,” the Capital FM News presenter, who honed her skills as the host of NTV’s Teen Republik show, told Pulse. She had met her first boyfriend at 19 and until then, the two had never gotten involved intimately.
“It is possible to be sensual and not go sexual. However, sometimes, one thing leads to another. You have to know where to draw the line,” says Kendi, an artiste.
Asked whether her first kiss prompted her to think about sex, Kendi said that to some extend it sparked some desire but she decided to abstain.
“What I tell my girls is that they should make sure their boyfriends carry a pack of condoms when they are going out as one thing may lead to another and the results could mean regrets. There is also nothing wrong with a girl carrying a pack of condoms for her boyfriend. There are even condoms for women today,” she adds.
That is the message the Aids Healthcare Foundation, in collaboration with the National Aids Control Council, will be taking to the youth this weekend in commemorating the International Condom Day.
Dubbed ‘Wrap your Love’, this is a day set aside to advocate for the importance of proper and consistent condom use as a sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention tool and also key in the prevention of unplanned for pregnancies.
“It is true that entertainers like me are always surrounded by situations that may lead to unplanned sex. I have learned to be super careful. From my past experiences, I learnt not to trust anyone,” Vanessa Chettle tells Pulse.
“I talk to girls about being responsible. I tell them not to end up in different men’s house. If you can’t abstain, then it is good to be careful and smart and use condoms,” she adds.
