“We found hope in TESFA. Things that seemed impossible, like going to school after marriage, were made possible.”
Child brides in Ethiopia took that hope and turned it into action. “We are victims of early marriage, TESFA taught us to fight to spare our younger sisters.” Another girl said, “no one stops me now.”
It’s not just the girls who notice a different. Girls who used to be invisible are now recognized in their communities. One official said, “The TESFA girls are easily identified in the community. You can easily tell as they dress better and appear clean. They also keep their children’s hygiene better.” Another said, “Recognizing marginalized married girls from their hiding kitchens and empowering them was a thoughtful and fresh approach to tackling early marriage and other harmful traditional practices.”
What happens when a CARE project ends? We got a chance to take a peek with TESFA and see what was still running 4 years after we stopped working in some areas. TESFA has received funding from the Nike Foundation and Johnson and Johnson. Phase 1 ran from 2011-2014, and phase 2 from 2015-2018, which reached 4,400 people directly.
What did we accomplish?
- Child marriage has gone down: One official says, “Girls used to marry at 7, 8 or 9 without their consent; in large wedding party... no such practice happen now. The girls know their rights.”
- Groups are going strong: 4 years later, 83% of girls groups are still meeting. Why? Because they say their lives are much better when they have their group.
- Girls have created new groups themselves: For every 4 groups CARE started, girls have created 1 group on their own.
- Savings stay up: Communities now feel that savings is a critical part of their culture. As one person said, “….nowadays everybody saves … It has become culture... the one who does not save is considered a fool.”
- Girls get better health services: Girls are more likely to use family planning and give birth in health centers. “We were married at an early age and gave birth to children even before our body matured. But after TESFA we use family planning and are able to space our children.”
- Violence is going down: One official said, “Women are awaked now… It is not like our time…no wife tolerates beating and mistreatment now. They go straight to the legal offices and report.” A man who used to beat his wife said, “I now know yelling at your wife is wrong let alone beating.”
How did we get there?
- Focus on social change: The project used the Social Analysis and Action (SAA) tool to get communities together to talk about the challenges they have and how to address them.
- Get a diverse group of people together: One of the key tenants of SAA is working with a lot of different kinds of people, from teenage girls to local religious leaders, to get them to brainstorm solutions together.
- Help girls work together and build skills: Girls solidarity groups were a big part of the solution, and help girls learn new skills. As one girl says, “we learned to walk with our heads up.”
- Get men involved: Men are getting more involved in childcare and chores at home. That means their wives have more time for other activities. “Now, even when children are sick, the fathers are the first to hold them close and take care of them.”
Want to learn more?
Read the post-project evaluation from Phase 1.