This project targets young women and girls SRHR as beneficiaries but they are also actively involved in the implementation. Ellen Namwiri 26years old is one of the Anti-Early Marriages Committee volunteers involved in the keep girls in school campaign under the project.

Ellen Nam campaign under the project. Ellen is one of 20 volunteers trained by Youth Response for Social Change to lead the community response in putting an end to early marriages and teen pregnancies and bring back married girls back to school role is identifying teenage marriages through linking up with school and community structures.

Once she verifies information she reports to her committees, which then summons the families and their village head through letters to a hearing overseen by the Group Village Head or his representative at the YRSC offices where the case will be heard.

If a family is found to have violated the by-laws by consenting to a minor’s marriage they will be fined and so will the Village Head and the marriage annulled. This process has successfully annulled 60 marriages and returned 50 girls to school.

Alice Mila is only 18years old plucked out of her standard 7 class, groomed into a relationship that culminated into an abusive early marriage regards the YRSC project as a success because had she not attended the SRHR outreach meetings she would have been suffering in silence.

Her marriage was not blessed by her parents, her partner refused to formalize it. Apart from physical assault her partner would force himself on her hundreds of times including days when she was in her menses. Through the community led rescue approach where the families are summoned to YRSC offices for a traditional court hearing she was successfully rescued from the abusive marriage and is now back with her parents waiting for her baby to be weaned at 2 years and go back to school

"I was not this healthy my partner caused me so much pain. He had a lot of girlfriends and whenever he returned from his fishing trips I would get sick and when I asked him about it he would respond by beating me up. Today I am healthy and very soon I will be back in class again. Thanks to YRSC for helping us teenage girls”.