Help grandmothers stop child marriage

Over the past four months grandmother leaders have been working in their communities to educate others about the dangers of child marriage, to promote its abandonment and to support girls completing their secondary education.  Grandmother Leaders are natural leaders in their communities who have embarked on specialized training in leadership, communication skills, and the physical and psychosocial development of girls during adolescence. During this period 42 grandmothers completed the Grandmother Leadership training program at one of four different training sites, expanding girls’ much needed support network. 

Women and Girls (WAG) forums offer women of all three generations the opportunity to discuss the most pressing issues that adolescent girls face in the community, brainstorm solutions and to determine what actions should be taken by each generation.  In the past four months 30 women from all three generations (10 grandmothers, 10 mothers and 10 adolescent girls) participated in one WAG forum, during which they discussed the most pressing issues facing girls: child marriage, FGM, completing secondary education and difficulties in balancing their school and home duties.

During the WAG forum participants discussed what actions each group could take to combat child marriage and ensure that girls could finish their education.  For example, it was decided that mothers and grandmothers will invite other women, fathers, community leaders and others from the community to discuss the harmful effects of early marriage and to build consensus about how to stop this harmful practice. It was also decided that adolescent girls will ask grandmothers to speak with their fathers about the harmful consequences of child marriage and together they will make a decision.  The girls present at the WAG forum were also tasked with informing other adolescent girls about the risks and consequences associated with child marriage. 

Such transformative progress in the abandonment of child marriage is only possible with the support of people like you.  Thanks to your generous donations, the women of Vélingara are able to work together to stop child marriage in their communities.