Fellows: Phillip Nyoni, Ekari Livingstone, and Charles Bokosi

Grant Year: 2019

Location: Thyolo District, Malawi

Organization: Center for Youth Development and Transformation (CYDT) and Vision for Development Youth Organization (VDYO)

Project title: Ndithandizeni Kukhala Ndi Tsogolo Lowala (Help Me Have a Bright Future)

Project summary: The Thyolo District Council created policies as part of the Girl Child Care, Protection, and Justice bylaws to protect the girl child from “any form of abuse that shall negatively affect the girl child from accessing education.” These policies attempt to cover several key issues that impact the girl child in Thyolo, as stated in Part II: “Girls dropping out of school due to early marriages, forced marriages, and pregnancies” and Part III: “Learner’s absentees and lack of parental support towards the girls under CAMFED Programme”. However, the bylaws only benefit Thyolo girls that are part of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) bursary, representing only a small percent of the total girl population in Thyolo District.

In order to protect the rights of all girls in Thyolo district, CYDT and VDYO propose to advocate with the VDC, ADC, and chiefs across Thyolo District, with specific focus on TA Changata and Nchilamwera, to revise Part II and Part III of the Thyolo District Girl Child Care, Protection, and Justice 2016 bylaws to include all girls in both primary and secondary schools, as well as girls not attending school (not just CAMFED girls) by September 2019. They will work closely with ENGAGE Girl Leaders in TA Changata and girl leaders from girls’ clubs in Nchilemwera to support the revision of these bylaws, ensure they are inclusive of all girls in these TAs, and ensure they truly protect the rights and wellbeing of girls in these two communities.