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| Photo by Thom Pierce |
Yelina almost got married when she was 17. A refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she was living in Dzaleka refugee camp in central Malawi with her father and stepmother. Yelina’s mother abandoned her as a child after she separated from her father.
But she wasn’t getting on with her family. “My stepmother doesn’t want me there. She doesn’t treat me well. I thought that getting married would be a way to getaway. It was the only choice I had left.”
But then Yelina heard about the refugee-led organization Solidarity of Refugee Women for the Social Welfare (Soferes) based in Dzaleka, which provides vocational training for girls at risk of child marriage.
She took a hairdressing course and is now working at the small salon the organization runs in the camp.
“The money I get from this work, I use for my own needs and for the needs of my family,” Yelina says. The work has helped her cope with family life and given her options.
“If there is someone hearing what I’m saying now, I would suggest to them to study rather than getting married.”
But she wasn’t getting on with her family. “My stepmother doesn’t want me there. She doesn’t treat me well. I thought that getting married would be a way to getaway. It was the only choice I had left.”
But then Yelina heard about the refugee-led organization Solidarity of Refugee Women for the Social Welfare (Soferes) based in Dzaleka, which provides vocational training for girls at risk of child marriage.
She took a hairdressing course and is now working at the small salon the organization runs in the camp.
“The money I get from this work, I use for my own needs and for the needs of my family,” Yelina says. The work has helped her cope with family life and given her options.
“If there is someone hearing what I’m saying now, I would suggest to them to study rather than getting married.”
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