Tikondwe Community Based Organisation (CBO) says it has managed to distribute 249 goats to 83 needy children on a pass-on programme at Group Village Machinjiri, Traditional Authority Malemia in Zomba as one way of discouraging child marriages which is mostly ignited by household poverty.
Tikondwe CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Esther Nkumbira said this during a Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting of organisations that protect children’s rights in Zomba.
She said Tikondwe CBO is implementing child protection programmes with funding from the Firelight Foundation.
Nkumbira disclosed that each of the 83 children received three goats that should be passed on to other children to reach out to many beneficiaries.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer explained that the CBO thought of a goat pass-on programme as a way of dealing with child marriages after research revealed that most children were compelled into marriages due to poverty.
“We thought of giving out the goat on a pass-on basis thinking that this would improve household income. We also believe that children from economically stable households will stay in school and will also not be compelled to child marriage,” Nkumbira added.
Tikondwe CBO also taught the children’s parents modern irrigation farming as one way of ensuring food security at the household level thereby improving livelihood.
“This is another way of ensuring that households are economically stable. We know poverty pushes children into child marriage,” she added.
The CBO also raise chickean ns as income-generating activity knowing that donors will not be there forever, according to Nkumbira.
“We are appealing to other donors to come in with funds to support Tikondwe CBO to continue implementing child protection programmes. We are still dealing with child marriages and we want to reach out to other parts of Zomba with child protection programmes,” Nkumbira said.
She also revealed that her organisation will stop supporting Tikondwe CBO soon.
District Social Welfare Officer for Zomba, Christopher Ndaona commended Tikondwe CBO for its child protection programme at Senior Chief Malemia’s area.
He said economic empowerment through the pass-on programme and the fight against child marriages were worth emulating.
Ndaona therefore urged other CBOs in Zomba to borrow a leaf from Tikondwe CBO and he also acknowledged the role Senior Chief Malemia plays in supporting the CBO in its efforts to end child marriages.
Passion Center for the Children, Zomba District Social Welfare Office, Malawi Prison Service, Zomba Gender Office, YODEP, Maternity World, wide, Shine Relief, and Judiciary were some of the NGOs and government sectors that attended the Child Protection Technical Working Group and the meeting was supported by USAID and Youth Development and Productivity (YODEP)
