Fifteen-year-old Didja Ajasi, a Standard seven learner at Nangapoche Primary School in Traditional Authority Katuli in Mangochi is back at school after giving birth to her child and spending over a year in marriage. 

She was forced into marriage to a young man who promised to provide more to her than her aging and poor parents.  She says she could not bear the sight of her friends who looked happier from the lavish gifts their boyfriends particularly those coming from South Africa heaped on them.  

“All my friends had boyfriends and they had everything that they needed. When a girl reaches puberty the temptation to have certain things in life is overpowering. I live with my old father and mother who are struggling to provide for us the basic necessities such as food, clothes and sometimes soap,” said Didja  

She says her marriage ended because the mother group supported by Malawi Girl Guides Association encouraged her to quit marriage for a better future through school. She also recalls a lot of abuse she was facing from her husband. Didja Ajasi is not alone in this unique and interesting turn of events. There are several girls who dropped out of school to get married in her area but are now back to school.   With support from the mother groups and the school authorities there is an enabling environment to allow for the young mothers to tend to the children as they continue with education.   

While not very traditional it is not uncommon for the guardians to bring babies to school in order for them to be breastfed by their young mothers who are in school.  

“My mother brings to school my child when she in hungry or she is requiring attention from me. I do not have to skip classes in order to attend to my child.  The school allows that my mother brings the baby to me at school,” continues Didja.  The mother groups have also been supporting Didja with some financial resources to cushion her from further temptations that may force her out of school again. The mother group has been mobilizing resources to support girls like Didja with money in order to retain them in school.  

“The mother group has been providing me with some money so that I should buy some necessities. As a young mother there are things that I may need to purchase so that I concentrate on studies,” she continued.  

“My mother brings to school my child when she in hungry or she is requiring attention from me. I do not have to skip classes in order to attend to my child.  The school allows that my mother brings the baby to me at school,” continues Didja.  The mother groups have also been supporting Didja with some financial resources to cushion her from further temptations that may force her out of school again. The mother group has been mobilizing resources to support girls like Didja with money in order to retain them in school.  

“The mother group has been providing me with some money so that I should buy some necessities. As a young mother there are things that I may need to purchase so that I concentrate on studies,” she continued.