Rochelle & Vanessa
The Saturdays’ bride-to-be Rochelle Wiseman and her fellow bandmate Vanessa White have made an emotional trip to Tanzania to meet girls forced into early marriage and pregnancy who are now being helped by Comic Relief and the UK Government’s Common Ground Initiative.
It is estimated that six out of 10 girls in Tanzania are forced into child marriage to help ease their families out of poverty as it is commonplace for the groom to pay the father a ‘bride price’, usually a gift of cattle.
These girls will frequently start families whilst still in their early teens, despite those under 18 being five times more likely to die giving birth than women in their 20s.
The singers visited projects that work with girls and wider communities to challenge child marriage and empower girls to have greater control over the decisions that affect them, such as when to start a family.
Not only are women and girls who have children later less likely to die in childbirth but often stay in education longer, and can earn more - helping both them and their children to have a longer, healthier life with more opportunities.
Rochelle and Vanessa heard first-hand from girls who had been or were at risk of being forced into marriage and starting families whilst still just children, and were deeply moved by their stories.
Rochelle said: "My wedding to Marvin is just around the corner, so talking to girls who had been forced to marry much older men when they were just 12 or 13 years old and having babies so young was really emotional for me.
"I can’t imagine how frightening it must be to be just a child, being forced to marry and having no choice as to when you are going to start a family, but unfortunately that’s the reality for so many girls across Africa."
Vanessa said: "My little sister is 12 and the thought of her leaving school to get married and have children really upsets me.
"Girls her age deserve to be protected from this and it was brilliant to see how these projects are helping girls to finish education, get a job and aspire to a better future."
Educating girls and delaying early marriage which allows them to plan pregnancy later on are just two of the ways that the Common Ground Initiative, co-funded by Comic Relief and UK aid, are helping girls change their lives.
The Initiative works with members of the Africa Diaspora living in the UK - those with African heritage and strong links to the continent - who have set up organisations which aim to change the lives of those who need it most across some of Africa’s poorest countries.
Rochelle and Vanessa visited The Children’s Dignity Forum and UMATI projects which are supported by FORWARD, a UK based diaspora organisation, which has received funding through the Initiative.
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