By Draxon Maloya
A month after the Mzimba District Executive Committee approved the Foundation for Children’s Rights (FCR) project, significant results are emerging.
The project focuses on eliminating violence against women and girls, addressing harmful practices, and promoting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR).
FCR Child Protection Workers (CPWs) met 15-year-old Stella Gondwe while conducting a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) baseline survey.
Stella, a brilliant student from Eswazini Primary, was selected to attend Euthini Secondary School but faced financial constraints that nearly forced her to drop out.
Abandoned by her parents years ago, Stella struggled to balance school and caring for her 71-year-old grandmother, relying on occasional financial support from teachers.
FCR’s Executive Director, Jenifer Mkandawire, shared the project’s short-term successes, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Goal 3 on Good Health.
“Our SGBV project has shown promising results, part of the global 540 laws or policies passed to end violence against women and girls,” Mkandawire said.
Touched by Stella’s story, a survey team member volunteered to pay her fees despite struggling financially. The CPW suggested adoption to provide Stella a safer environment, protecting her from child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
With proper protocols followed, Stella joined her friends at Euthini Secondary school on September 21 and is adjusting well, complimenting the FCR’s knowledge and awareness program for vulnerable women and girls.
The project seems to be reducing domestic violence through engaging men and youths as agents of change in promoting gender-equitable attitudes while strengthening justice systems to increase SGBV conviction rates
Above all, Stella’s story inspires hope for other girls, reminding them that support is available, regardless of poverty. The FCR project is a crucial step towards creating a safer, more equitable society for women and girls in Mzimba and beyond.
