Child Protection

  Background: Kabuya Mariam, female, aged 23 years , dropped out of school in senior four due to life challenges. She is a  young mother of  01 and comes from Jewa Lower cell in Jewa Town Council, Mbale District. Mariam is the last born  among the 14 children of mzee Nabudo Yahaya Masaba of Jewa Parish,in Mbale. Intervention: In 2020,PCI received funding from the RightsNowFoundation to implement the Skills for Education(S4E) project in Mbale to empower vulnerable girls with sustainable income generating skills. Mariam is one of the over 200 adolescent girls and young women(AGYW) who benefited from the PCI skills for education (S4E) project funded by the RightsNow Foundation in 2020. Asked how she learned about [PCI ] and how she got involved in the S4E project, Mariam says” I learnt about PCI through a friend. My friend told me that PCI had enrolled girls during the COVID-19 lock down and was training them in skills like making sanitary pads and tailoring. I asked her whether the project was free of charge and whether I could also join. She told me the project was free and PCI was enrolling vulnerable girls like me. The following day I joined and started learning how to make handmade reusable sanitary pads. After 2 days I tried the sewing machine and I felt good. This made me to love the project and continue participating’. Mariam under went a six months hands on artisan training on tailoring and she graduated in 2021. She now operates her business from Busia( Kayola yard) and  earns on average UGX 36,000= ( USD 10) per day. About the changes that Mariam has experienced as a result of participating in PCI projects /trainings: Mariam is happy to express: “ There are very many changes. First I  no longer have time to waste. Every day I wake up, I know what I have to do. I am self-employed. I can survive as an individual because I am working and I do not depend on any one for survival as it was before. Secondly, I was  shy and timid. My self- esteem was low but now I can confidently address up to five people without fear. People no longer despise me, because I work, I hope to have even  a better future”, She expressed with smiles. Mariam describes the changes that she has seen and heard of in her community as a result of PCI and RightsNow Foundation project as follows: “ I see children and girls engaged in tailoring training which occupy them during school holidays and weekends. When holidays come, they go to PCI skills center to attend training in tailoring and making reusable sanitary pads. I see many girls and young women  admire me and they want to be like me. I have seen AGYW have gained confidence. Girls no longer engage in bad behavior like asking boys for money to buy sanitary pads. I have seen some girls who get old clothes, go to PCI skills center and make their own pads. This has  reduced early pregnancy.” Mariam’s message to other girls who could be suffering is that: They (girls) should know that they can also manage and succeed like me. “First, they(AGYW) should believe in themselves. Say , I am Mariam and I can do it. Be confident. They should  have hope because situations change. I never knew I could join an organization like PCI, get skills and become independent. The AGYW should know that a skill is permanent and can give you a job all the time. They should be engaged, go to PCI and gain skills. Girls planning to get married should know that if you get married with a skill in your head, you can make a better wife and mother”, summarized Mariam. Mariam is grateful to the RightsNow Foundation and all PCI development partners including PEPFAR and PACE for supporting adolescent girls and young women in Uganda.