Alicia* from Makoni is a young mother of 17 years. She never enjoyed her childhood as she was forced into marriage at the age of 13. Life became miserable; the burden of taking care of her child was too much for her. Her ‘husband’ whom she thought would be a pillar of strength became abusive, at some point she became suicidal.
“I did not know what to do with my life, my peers were still in school and yet I was already struggling with marriage and Gender Based Violence (GBV). My husband took advantage of my weak support system to beat me up at any given time. I would run to my neighbours for help but they could not offer much help, they asked me to go back home and ask for forgiveness. My parents insisted that every marriage had its challenges, instead of running away, I was supposed to get used to my new way of life.”
Alicia’s story caught the attention of one community member who referred her to the DREAMS out of school Facilitator in St Theresse. This marked the beginning of a new life for Alicia, a life of hope and determination. She joined the DREAMS project with enthusiasm, for the first time she could see help coming her way.
“I went through the gender norms and HIV prevention sessions and these opened my eyes. I realized that I had suffered abuse for the better part of my life. I felt empowered to stand for my rights. I even had the courage to engage my husband and informed him that I was ready to report him to the police if ever he violated my rights. I am now living in peace.”
Alicia was referred to the One Stop Centre for psychosocial support. She was further encouraged to report if she encountered any forms of GBV. The DREAMS partners also engaged Alicia’s ‘husband’ and explained to him that child marriage was illegal and so was GBV.
The One Stop Centre motivated Alicia to seek more knowledge about her rights and economic empowerment. She joined the ISALS group where she was trained on entrepreneurship. Alicia together with 14 other DREAMS beneficiaries became part of the Sungano club which started by saving one US dollar per month; she managed to borrow enough money from the group to buy tomato and vegetable seedlings. She is now one of the top suppliers of vegetables in her community.
“I am now independent and empowered. I have enough money to take care of my family and my husband respects me for that. I am grateful to the DREAMS project for enlightening me on my rights. I can also boldly support my peers who find themselves in abusive and challenging situations by referring them to service providers who can assist them.”
*Not real name