SOJFEP

Saving the lives of indigenous Pygmy teenage girls who are the victim of early and forced marriages in Kanteba.

According to UNFPA, in 2019 60% of girls in the province of Tanganyika (DR Congo) were married before their 18th birthday.

In prevention and response, a secure and confidential emergency space will be set up by SOJFEP (Solidarité des Jeunes Filles pour l’Education et l’Intégration Socioprofessionnelle) in Kanteba, an indigenous Pygmy village located 7 km from the city of Manono. In this space, they will welcome adolescent girls who are victims of forced marriage or who have survived kidnapping, listen to them, provide advice, emergency care and temporary accommodation and refer them to other medical, legal and judicial services.

Thirty adolescent girls who are victims of forced marriage and early unions will be supported and reintegrated into their families, while being able to enjoy their childhood rights.

Thanks to support for their educational and socio-professional reintegration through the establishment of a community school canteen and rapid training in entrepreneurship and small professional trades, they will be able to meet their educational and vital needs.