The Fate of Child Brides

To most of us, when we hear about child marriages, it probably does not make sense. To some of us, it is not real. However, statistics indicate that this problem is more real than we imagine. 1 in 9 girls from developing countries are married before the age of 15. Some of these girls are married off at age 9. 1 in 3 girls in developed countries are married before age 18. As a result, about 14 million girls under the age of 18 are denied their rights to education worldwide.  Although statistics indicate that this problem is worse in some countries than others, this problem is worse in developing countries.

In South Asia for instance, 46% of girls are married before age 18. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 38% of the girls are married off before age 18. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 21% of girls are married off before age 18. In East Asia and the Pacific, 18% of the girls are married off before age 18. In the Middle East and North Africa, 18% of girls are married before age 18. In central Europe, 11% of girls are married before age 18 (UNICEF, 2013).      

While child brides has been an acceptable practice in many countries, modern societies have tried to protect children by insisting they get opportunities to education in order to live a better life. The United Nations' the organization to which most countries who seek to promote social justice and welfare of all stipulates in Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that there are "equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family." The right to education, the right to shelter and the food are considered basic to each and every one. Unfortunately, child brides are denied education which is fundamental to attaining the other basic rights.

As stated by the UNICEF, most of these child brides end up in poverty, less educated and with serious health issues, for themselves and their children. According to studies, girls age 15-19 are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or child birth compared to those over age 20. Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to lose their lives during child birth. When a woman is under 18, her child is 60% more likely to die in its first year of life than a baby born to a mother over 18 years.

In addition to this, countries with the highest child marriage rates have the lowest rates of educated women. A country that denies women education does not only deny these women a healthy and better livelihood, it also denies itself human power that would have gone into its development. It is no wonder that countries with the most child marriages happen to be the poorest.

For those of us who care, we should do something about it. While it is beyond our mission to rid the society of this cruel practice, those of us at WISO do whatever little we can to help protect children from marriages that destroy their lives. With your donations, we seek out girls, one at a time, support her education and put her to a road to a better life. We use donations to pay their tuition, bills in a sheltered environment until they are able to go out as independent and responsible citizens. Yet, even with our meager support, we are hopeful that with your support, we can make a difference in a number of girls’ lives. Visit us at www.wiso2011.org to learn what we do and to support us by a donation of your choosing. We count on your support.  Make one girls Christmas true by presenting her a gift to education.

A Pastor Who Raped Girls claims they had the Devil in Them?

A pastor charged with rape of girls claims that the girls had devils inside them. Really? This man should never have been a pastor in the first place. Members of his congregation should have seen the red flags and said something before this happened. Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/13/jacoby-kindred-pastor-rape-girls-devil-inside-them_n_4439216.html

Stories like these are becoming more common in our society than we can bear. When those in positions of leadership forget their responsibility to uphold a high moral standard, we know that our society is living under the worst moral decadence. Moral decay happens when society decided that they do not care what happens to their neighbor, and anyone else. Soon, everyone does not care about friends and even family members. This is not to mention the apathy often displayed towards the consequences of such behavior.

Unfortunately, as social being, humans have to remember that we are moral being. It is in our human self to create norms and to choose those norms that bring the highest good in us as well as the highest pleasure. These values in themselves are not as satisfying unless they are experienced within family and friendly relations. It is for this reason that norms and morality must be upheld. It is for this reason that we frown at a pastor who assaults children under his care, or a family member assaulting a family member. There is something very, very wrong with that picture.

I have wondered why abuse happens in the wrong places. A pastor abusing children under his care is one of the gross things one has to hear. It should be a law that anyone in leadership who is guilty of abuse should not only be convicted, they should never be allowed in leadership positions ever again. If this was ensured, we would have the most vulnerable members of our community protected. Children, boys and girl, and the elderly, and of course women need to be protected from pedophiles.

After you read this narrative and care about stopping leaders who do this to their subjects for whom they are expected to uphold the highest degree of moral uprightness, we ask that you join us in assisting an abused survivor to redirect her/ his life. Join us at www.wiso2011.org.  Support us as we expose these pedophiles and how to stop them.

An Appeal for Girls in Africa

Hello everyone. Today, I make an appeal to you for the girls in Africa. Join us in ensuring that few girls drop out of school due to simple basic needs. Education is not only key to a better life; it is a step to opportunities in life. It is a basic need for general survival and a life of non-dependence. We may not meet all their needs, but taking care of a simple aspect of their lives goes a long way. It takes just one simple gesture and one caring person to make a difference.
 
There are girls in Africa who face serious sanitation problems. They drop out of school because they do not have sanitary pads to wear while going to school. They get embarrassed during menstruation and cannot bear the misery of being in school without pads. Because these girls come from communities where matters related to sexuality and even reproduction are rarely discussed, they end up dropping out of school.

My experience with these girls has taught me that they are as smart as any girl or boy out there. All they need are conditions to enable their education to take place. Whenever I visit Africa, I go to school and talk to the teachers and girls to find out who has dropped out of school and why. This fact has been reinforced by studies that have shown how many girls drop out of school in order to get married and to avoid embarrassment when they reach puberty because they fear to be embarrassed when they undergo menstruation periods.

Puberty and menstruation are natural experiences. There girls should not feel inhibited by natural conditions to not go to school. I wish governments in Africa would do a lot to help these girls in these matters. Unfortunately, very little is being done. This is where my WISO organization comes in and where your support comes in.

 As a non-profit organization, all we are doing is fundraise and buy pads which we distribute to girls in various schools to ensure that they don’t drop out of school for such a flimsy reason. With support, we hope to equip each girl with pads to take them a year. We can then build on this yearly. There are many schools in Africa as you know. So we hope to begin this initiative in one country and encourage group formation to continue the program. Hopefully, this can make a change in some of these girls’ lives. If we get enough support, we can help them in other areas of need.

It is for this reason we need your support. We solicit grants but these are hard to come by. We count on individual support more because these come from the heart. We do not claim to end their problems. We can’t. Just a simple gesture to keep them going on with their struggles is enough for a start. That is how I see it. Whatever gift you give us, $5, $10, $20 $100 all count and will definitely make a huge change in these girls’ lives. We count on your help and hope you can also help spread the word. If you donate any amount $20 and up, you receive a T-shirt or a beautiful tote bag from us. You will also receive pictures of our distribution events to these girls.

Visit our Facebook and webpage to support us. As I indicated earlier, the need is much more than we know. Visit www.wiso2011.org and click the donation button. Oh our Facebook also has the donation button. You can contact us at wiso2011@gmail.com for details on how serious the problem is or for any other questions you have. We appreciate your help. www.wiso2011.org