"I admired my friends who had boyfriends, it felt cool," confesses Anastazia, a bright 13-year-old Standard 6 student from Ntcheu who loves Math and dreams of becoming a doctor. Like many girls her age, she looked up to her peers and wanted to fit in. But what began as innocent curiosity soon led her down a dangerous path.
One day, Anastazia left home to stay with her 14-year-old boyfriend in a neighboring village. For two months, she drifted between his home and hers, leaving her family in anguish. "She would come home one day, then disappear the next," says father who is visually impaired, his voice heavy with worry. "We tried to talk to her, to ask why she kept running away, but she wouldn’t explain. Then one day, she didn’t return at all."
Fearing the worst, her parents searched desperately for their daughter, until a community member told them about Save the Children Malawi’s Abwenzi A Ana program, which works with community structures in ending child marriages in Ntcheu.
With renewed hope, Anastazia’s father reached out to child protection committee. Immediately, a team, including a child protection worker and the local chief, visited the boy’s family. They acted swiftly, dissolving the underage union and counseling both families on the importance of education and the dangers of child marriage.
Today, thanks to Save the Children Malawi’s Abwenzi A Ana program with YODEP as implementing partner, girls like Anastazia are being rescued from early marriages and given a chance to pursue their dreams. For Anastazia, this means returning to school and continuing working toward her goal of becoming a doctor.
Her story is a powerful reminder, no child should have their future stolen by early marriage. With the right support, they can rewrite their destinies.
