By Ephraim Ngwira

Karonga, December 10, Mana: The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has reported that its Stop Gender-Based Violence Project, currently being implemented in Karonga, has successfully rescued 16 children who were trafficked to Tanzania.

Gender Officer for CCJP, Stella Zimba, made the remarks on Monday during a joint monitoring visit at Traditional Authorities Mwakaboko and Kilupula.

Zimba stated that through the efforts of zone implementation committees, in collaboration with mother groups, chiefs, male champions, religious leaders, and child protection workers, they are achieving significant progress in combating gender-based violence.

"The zone committees have managed to bring children back to school who were rescued from early marriage and child trafficking in Tanzania.

“16 children who were trafficked to Tanzania were rescued and eight girls ranging from 13 to 16 years have been rescued from marriages and some are back to school," said Zimba.

“We managed to bring mobile courts in these remote areas. We are happy justice is being served. There was a case where a husband left a woman with two kids for another woman but now through the intervention of the courts, the husband is paying child maintenance fee of K80,000 per month," she added.

Zimba further explained that through the project, they have also trained women who are survivors of GBV with vocation skills like tailoring so that they can be self-reliantt.

District Liaison Officer at Governance for Solutions, Christobel Munthali, commended CCJP for the successful implementation of the project but she expressed worry as the project is ending December 2024.

“For girls who have been returned from marriage and are not going to school, we need to find them something to do. If they are doing nothing they might go back to marriage,” Munthali said.

Gender based violence survivor Bertha Chikome from principal GVH Mwandambo thanked the CCJP for changing her life and asked them to reach out to others who are undergoing challenges.

“My husband left me with kids without help. The CCJP taught me vocational skills in tailoring and they gave me a sewing machine and now am able to feed my family and am living a happy life,” Chikome said.

The project which is being funded by Norwegian Church Aid and Danish Church Aid is aimed at enhancing effective protection and promotion of rights of women and girls from GBV through improved justice delivery, safe advocacy, and self-activism.