Youth Response for Social Change

Background

Child marriage is a marriage in which either one of the parties, or both, is or was a child under the age of 18 at the time of the union. At 42%, Malawi has one of the highest prevalence of child marriage, defined as the percentage of women 20-24 years old who were first married or in union before they were 20 years old. Child marriage is one of the key factors affecting the chances of Malawi achieving her development goals in the education, health, economic and other sectors.

This Campaign Plan presents the Youth Response for Social Change (YRSC) strategic processes for achieving the desired results of the USAID funded project titled “Social Transformation for Ending Child Marriage in Machinga.” The project is being implemented in Machinga District in the areas surrounding T.A Mchunguza, Kawinga, Mulomba and Chikweo.

Project Goal

The goal of the project is to “create and energize a movement of young people to end child marriages in Machinga.” The youth movement intends to change the mindset of traditional gate keepers, power holders and opinion leaders within the impact area to reduce or end child marriages. Specifically, the project intends to achieve the following objectives:

1. To increase youth participation and demand for action in the prevention of forced marriages through wider community and Government engagement.
2. To increase community awareness on the challenges of early child marriages and viable solutions applied among boys, girls, community leaders and Government.
3. To improve community action and responsiveness on addressing early child marriages in local communities.
4. iv. To enhance enforcement of national laws and community by-laws linking SRHR and early child marriages through a responsive justice system