SALIMA-(MaraviPost)-The network of young girls with advancing agenda to end child marriage in the continent, PEPETA Africa has emphasized the need for nations to invest much in girl child education.
The continent’s sisterhood grouping says young girls who dropped out of school due to early pregnancies and marriage, but are back into classrooms while nursing their kids must be natured with resources to realize their dreams
The grouping is advancing its agendas in six Southern African Development Community (SADC) including Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The grouping on Saturday, October 13 visited and inspired Malawi’s Salima North West constituency girls at Kaphirintiwa Community Day Secondary School (CDSS ) to realize their dreams amid social challenges.
The visit comes as Malawi tops the list of six SADC countries on child marriage.
PEPETA team leader Talent Jumo told The Maravi Post after the visit that the grouping is on young girls’ rescue mission in the region.
Jumo observed that policy alone is not enough to end child marriage but provision of resources that help to sustain girls in school.
She said this is the reason PEPETA introduces revolving funds for the sustainability of the program in the region.
“Many SADC countries have outstanding policies and legal framework to end child marriage but that alone is not enough. We need action oriented mechanism to rescue girls from the vice hence the introduction of revolving funds to sustain them once are back to school.
“We have started with Malawi with US$350 (about MK250,000) which sustain girls with their school uniform, fees, notebooks. PEPETA will make sure that the revolving funds is fully supported to reach many girls in all SADC nations we are working,” assures Jumo.
Jumo therefore encouraged girls to stand up and say no early sex practices in order to achieve and get on highest level of education citing their legislator Dr. Jesse Kabwila herself who took 28 years from primary to the tertiary where she got her doctorate
She said Kabwila is not important only for Salima but to the whole SADC region and that she’s also popular to the girls in Zimbabwe.
Jumo who is a teacher by professional added that it is important to have such women in Parliament arguing that losing her is a discouragement to young girls.
Stella Dickson, Kamphirimtiawa’s CDSS form two student who got married at 12 while in Standard eight (but now back into the classroom) felt inspired with Pepeta saying will achieve her dreams of becoming a nurse.
Salima North-West Constituency lawmaker Dr. Kabwila lauded grouping for inspiration and revolving funds saying will motivate the girls to be in school.
Dr. Kabwila who is also Malawi’s Parliamentary Committee on Women Caucus chairperson encouraged the girls to take her model to concentrate on education to achieve their life goals.
The legislator who once served as SADC Parliamentary Forum Women Caucus chairperson assured the constituents of tangible developments.
