Lango intensifies fight against child marriages

Four grassroots organisations in Lira, Maracha, and Kiruhura districts have intensified the battle to end early marriages.

In February this year, a Primary Seven pupil reportedly committed suicide in Agweng Sub-county, Lira District, after she was allegedly forced into marriage.

The deceased’s body was discovered a day after she had been initiated into a traditional marriage arrangement against her will.

The boy reportedly came and gave her Shs300,000 to ask for her hand in marriage. Before she decided to end it all, her would-be husband’s family members returned to her home and added some money so that she could be taken to the boy’s home.

Few weeks ago, another pupil also committed suicide in Amolatar District after her relatives hatched plans to marry her off. The organisations are now engaging community members in attempts to change underlying social norms that perpetuate child marriages.

Three interventions also offer economic incentives to parents to promote education and healthy behaviours.

TPO Uganda

TPO Uganda, for instance, has supported at least more than 4,500 households with livelihood grants in three sub-counties in Lira District.

The beneficiaries form a group and select the enterprises of their choice. At this point, TPO staff members train them depending on the different enterprises t they have selected.

“So, once we train them, we prepare them to receive the economic support from TPO to boost either initiatives that they had already started or to support them with the livelihood that they had already prepared for,” Ms Peninah Kia, the TPO Uganda’s project coordinator at Lira field office, said.

Amani Initiative

 Amani Initiative has also supported 15 groups in Maracha, Terego, Arua City, and Arua District with seed capital, which the beneficiaries can borrow.

“We distributed 300 simple mobile handsets so that each member could capture her own information of savings. We gave one Smartphone per group so that all information on savings and loan transactions within each of the 15 groups is captured,” Mr Patrick Dranimva, the Amani Initiative programme officer at Maracha field office, said.

“We had software developed by some firm. Each savings day, the secretaries track how much each member saved, how much they borrowed, how much they repaid and so forth. You can also request for a loan  from home,” he added.

Mr Geoffrey Enzadribo, the chairman of Central Ward in Maracha Town Council, said: “We also make a lot of referrals. Cases come to us and because we don’t have the legal mandate to handle them, we refer them to police .”

Ms Fortunate Abaho, the deputy executive director of Kiruhura Women Development Agency, said: “We do sensitisation in communities and schools. We normally go to Radio 5 and hold radio talk shows. Our organisation is also working closely with the church to make sure they promote behavioural change.”

Strategies

All the four organisations employ different strategies against child marriage prevention. TPO Uganda is supporting Akano Parish in Lira to formulate a by-law prohibiting the practice. “Before the intervention, there was rampant forced early marriages, defilement and child labour,” said Mr Tom Opio Okino, the chairperson of Te-anyok Village.    Mr Isaac Ezaangu, an agent working with Amani Initiative, said: “We move to communities to educate people on the danger of child marriage and benefits of educating girls.”

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