Our team was in Suswa for the ongoing project in the region which begun in 2023. Her Future Coalition through a partnership came on board to fund the project which sought to support more than 40 children beneficiaries from Ereteti, Empaash and Suswa Primary Schools to change their narratives by escaping child marriages, forced labor and other forms of exploitation.
During this visit, our team moderated important meetings. The first meeting was with stakeholders (The chief, Gender desk Officer, parents, teachers and a nurse). This meeting sought to review the progress of the children. The second meeting was with parents of the children, where out of all the parents who were invited only 18 women and 2 men showed up. The meeting was meant to chat the way forward on how parents can improve their economic ability in order to better support their children, however, it was realized that fathers were quite absent in their children’s physical lives. This was evidenced by the turn up of the parents.
The third meeting was with the Community Leaders (Council of elders, Pastors, The Chief and women representatives). This was a first of its kind meeting where the discussion was around how, the leaders could become advocates for fathers to be more present in their children’s lives.
In their community, children are considered to belong to the mother. Traditionally, men are allowed to marry many wives, and with the aforementioned cultural beliefs, the men assume the position of sole providers and the women primary caregivers. This creates a gap in the family dynamic, especially when viewed from the standpoint of the physical upbringing of the children. Going forward, our team in partnership with Her Future Coalition and the support of the Suswa community will work to bridge this gap to ensure children receive holistic care.
