Back from marriage; stranded at home: a dim future

My visit to Amuria sent chillings as I listened to stories of about 15 adolescent girls share how they left their parents home in search for a better life in marriage during the lock down due to COVID 19. Children were out of school for almost two years due to lock down.

Akello's (not real name) story was one that touched me. She is about 16 years old . She narrated that her parents are very poor since COVID lockdown affected the small business her mother used to do. To the extent she  could not afford menstral pads and soap. She found this young village boy who offered to buy her those items if only she could accept his proposal to elope. She escaped from home and went to the boy's village/home. To her surprise, the conditions at the husband's place where even worse. she used to starve and yet she had to work so hard, go to the garden, fetch water and typically do all work as a slave. She became pregnant but because she had no good care, she had a miscarriage and lost the pregnancy. At his time her parents circulated information of her dissapearance to the local community structures. They found her and her father promised to do all it takes him to take her back to school.

She cam back home. When the schools opened at the beginning of the year, she re-enrolled and the father, a peasant tried all his best to raise one quarter of the school fees. Because she had not paid funds for food, she had to be going back home to have lunch (about 3km away).But midterm he could not raise the fees she had to go back home. Akello needs support to pursue and education and have a better future. Lets support Akello and others . Pse inbox me