Africa-Press – Malawi. When Linda Saidi’s father died while she was in form one, her choices were very limited. The only breadwinner in the family, her mother, married another man who was not as enthusiastic about education let alone paying for her school fees.
The 19-year-old form two student at Mzimundilinde Community Day Secondary School in Balaka recalled how the treatment from her stepfather affected her.
”I was forced to drop-out of school while in form one. After the death of my father, life became unbearable. He was also the one providing me with my education expenses,” she said.
The stepfather—farmer from the same village—refused to be responsible for her school fees. He insisted that marriage was the only best option for her than to spend his ‘hardly’ sourced cash on school expenses. Linda became more dejected.
After spending a year without attending classes, Linda’s dream of going back to school gradually started opening up after CAVWOC and its partners started implementing ‘her future her choice’ project in the area. She eventually joined Simbota girls club which is affiliated to CAVWOC.
Communities in the areas of traditional authorities Kalembo and Amidu in Balaka district have embraced the initiative and the numbers of teenage pregnancies and early marriages are said to be on the decline.
Apart from CAVWOC, the family planning association of Malawi (FPAM) and Youth network for development (NYD) are also involved. As a partner, CAVWOC has made significant strides in restoring hope to the hopeless adolescent girls and young women in the areas.
For a long time, young girls and women have been vulnerable to cases of gender based violence (GBV), mainly due to some cultural beliefs in their societies.
At the club, Linda and her peers under the supervision of CAVWOC’s field workers are informed on a number of issues ranging from sexual reproductive health rights, prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. They also discuss various issues concerning human rights.
“Before I joined the club, I was afraid to report to authorities of what was happening to me at home. In fact, I was not sure of where to go and present my concerns,” she said.
“However, as time went by, I was able to express what I was facing at home to CAVWOC officials, and lucky enough, they approached my stepfather to consider paying for my school needs. It worked out,” she added.
Linda, who aspires to be a medical doctor, is currently performing well in class and she commends CAVWOC for bringing back hope in his life. The story of Linda is just one of countless young girls and women whose dreams were on a verge of collapse, but they are now able to see light at the end of a tunnel. District gender officer for Balaka, Scholastica Datchi says Her Future Her Choice project has improved services offered by community structures.
“The project has made significant impact by making sure that there is good coordination among different stakeholders including the community victim support workers, mother groups and traditional leaders. This collaboration has made it possible to raise awareness to communities in fighting gender based violence,” Datchi said.
Apart from raising awareness on the fight against gender based violence, CAVWOC has also been instrumental in making sure that young girls and women including boys and men are accessing youth friendly health services at their fingertips.
CAVWOC project officer, Rightwell Nyirenda said they believe that young girls and boys can make wise decisions concerning their lives if they have the right information. The aim, he said, is to make sure that young people are accessing the services within their areas.
According to the district’s youth health friendly services coordinator, Daniel Mika, the project has empowered the youth with the conducive environment in as far as seeking medical attention on and guidance on sexual reproductive health issues is concerned.
Mika said the project has increased in outreach clinics, a development which has helped young people in hard to reach areas to access services. Mika believes that at the pace the project is going, the district can overcome the burden of HIV and AIDS among the teens if the project can be rolled -out to as many areas as possible in the district.
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