Delay Marriage Promote Schooling for Ugandan Girls

In celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11^th themed “Invest in Girls rights: Our leadership, our wellbeing”. There was an opportunity to highlight the unique challenges faced by girls in Uganda and worldwide, as well as the efforts taken by Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) to support and empower them.

Child marriage is a pressing issue in Uganda, with many girls forced into early marriages, resulting in the violation of their rights, denial of education, and significant health and social consequences. This practice is driven by various factors, including poverty, cultural norms, and limited awareness about the harmful effects of child marriage.

To inspire and empower girls to eradicate the practice of Child marriage in Uganda, Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) engaged in advocacy activities to raise awareness about the rights and well-being of girls. We collaborated with local leaders, schools, and parents to encourage positive change in communities.

We also actively engaged with community leaders and influencers, encouraging them to support our efforts. Their involvement played a crucial role in changing local attitudes towards child marriage.

We conducted extensive awareness campaigns at the community level by organizing workshops, seminars, and community dialogues to educate parents, community leaders, and girls about the negative impact of child marriage on girls' lives.

We documented stories of change of girls in Eastern Uganda Soroti district to listen, prevent and respond to child marriages and teenage pregnancies in the district.

We were also hosted on a UBC radio on a radio program dedicated to celebrating the voices and power of girls, championing their rights, and reflecting on the challenges they continue to face because of their gender.

JFCU provided legal support to girls at risk of child marriage by working with local authorities and legal entities to ensure that the rights of these girls were protected.

We have also offered educational scholarships with support from our partners to girls at risk of child marriage, enabling them to continue their studies and pursue their dreams.

Through these initiatives, we observed a lot of positive impacts which included the increased awareness and understanding of the harmful consequences of child marriage within communities, reduction in the number of reported child marriages in the areas where our initiatives were implemented, improved access to education and vocational training for girls, offering them an alternative to early marriage, enhanced confidence and resilience among girls who received support from JFCU.

However, while our efforts were successful, there were also some challenges like limited resources for expanding our programs to reach even more girls, socio-cultural barriers and norms that continue to impact the lives of girls, the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted some of our planned activities.

Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) remains committed to the cause of empowering girls in Uganda through the Delay Child marriage, Promote schooling for Ugandan girls project. The International Day of the Girl Child serves as a reminder of the importance of continued dedication to the rights and well-being of girls. We will continue to work tirelessly to overcome challenges and provide support to girls, ensuring they have every opportunity to achieve their dreams and contribute to a brighter future.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, supporters, and the girls themselves, who inspire us every day with their resilience and determination. Together, we can create a world where every girl in Uganda has the opportunity to thrive and fulfill her potential.

Most Children especially girls in our community are forced into early marriages by either their parents or guardians due to common factors like poverty, gender inequality, cultural norms and stereotypes which deprives them from their right to education.

Education is one way of delaying child marriage and yet most of these children are not attending school. Due to the lack of education these children become vulnerable leading up to teenage pregnancies, sexual abuse, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and early marriages.

In September we visited Kitgum prison primary school where Child Marriage and poverty have been reported as the major barriers to girl’s education. The head teacher of the School says many girls have been forced out of school. “A girl, who was supposed to sit for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2022, did not sit because she was married off”. He says.   

Poverty coupled with cultural practices has resulted in increased vulnerabilities of children in the northern district of Kitgum, exposing many girls to child marriages.

“I regret getting married at the age of 17 years, I would have stayed at my parents’ home and may be stay in School”- Young Mother in PandWong, Kitgum District

Every child has a right to learn and access quality services to fulfill their potential to enable gainful employment opportunities and empowerment of girls to participate in decision making to build a better future for themselves and their communities.

A lot of young mothers in our community are illiterate because they have failed to go back to school due to underlying issues like lack of school fees and forced early marriages. 

Limited funding, absence of effective, functional monitoring and accountability system from national to local levels makes it difficult to keep track of the implementation and enforcement of the existing laws and policies against child marriage and  Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development acknowledges that programs that directly concern communities are underfunded.

Joy for children Uganda provides sponsorship and scholastic materials for young children and mothers to enable them access school to better the future of themselves and their communities.

Delay child marriage, promote schooling for Ugandan girls project empowers young girls at risk of marriage or already in union and also promotes education among young and teenage girls to fight the practice of early child marriage.

By supporting the project you’re building the skills and knowledge of young girls at risk of child marriage.