The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with the Eleva Foundation has rescued no fewer than 20 adolescent girls from early marriages in Sokoto State in the last two months.
Nenman Calvin, a Counselor with Child Friendly Space Centre, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during a field trip to the centre in Dange Shuni LGA, Sokoto state.
The organisations have succeeded in rescuing these girls through the Almajiri and Out-of-School Adolescent Girls Project initiative in some Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State, she enthused.
The initiative is aimed to providing education to vulnerable children and tackling the issue of child marriage in the region, Clavin explained, disclosing that her centre has been addressing at least five to ten cases of child marriage every month aged between 13 to 15.
According to her, many of the girls desire to return to school to become nurses so that they could be change agents in their community to rescue girls from the destructive cultural and religious practice of child marriage .
Noting that the counsellors are doing a great job by working closely with families of the girls to encourage them to allow their daughters to continue their education, Clavin emphasised the importance of government support, particularly with financial assistance, to ensure that the adolescent girls receive quality education.
Also speaking, the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist in Sokoto, Pius Uwamanua, said the centre was put in place as a comprehensive facility offering mentorship, life skills training, and vocational programmes, including knitting, cosmetology, tailoring, and shoe-making.
Uwamanua said the centre also provided essential services such as mentorship for children facing early marriage pressures and gender-based violence.
“The initiative has created a space where children can build trust and receive the necessary support, including legal services and psychosocial assistance.
“The centre provides multi-sectoral support in different services for children such as vocational, digital, and mentorship training among others to the children,” he said.
One of the rescued girls commended the initiative, pledging to be a change agent to rescue many other girls from early marriage through her continued counselling of girls.
“My parents had already pressured me into early marriage but I had to come here through the help of a friend.
“The mentorship sessions I gained from this centre have helped me and I am able to convince my mother of the implications of child marriage.
“I thank God that my mother listened to me and was able to tell my father to stop this idea of early marriage plans for me and my sister.
“Now we are learning here and I will make sure I tell other girls in my community about the dangers of early marriage, ” she said.
Also, the District Head of Gagi Area in Sokoto South LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Jabbi, praised UNICEF for supporting the Sokoto State Government in addressing the issue of out-of-school children.
Jabbi urged the government to take full ownership of the initiative and expand its reach for the benefit of more children, adding that with continued support from UNICEF and other partners, Sokoto State could significantly reduce the number of out-of-school children and improve educational outcomes.
