CHILD protection teams have been formed in five wards of Tarime District in Mara Region in a move to safeguard children rights under an ambitious project funded by European Union (EU).
The project which aims at ending child
marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) in the district is being
implemented by Plan International Tanzania in collaboration with
Children's Dignity Forum(CDF), a local NGO leading on-going campaigns
against child marriage and FGM in Mara Region.
Mr Emmanuel Asaph, the project
coordinator from Plan International Tanzania said formation of the child
protection teams at the ward level is a milestone in the fight against
forced marriage and FGM cases and other forms of injustices facing
children in the area.
"This has come after successful
formation of a child protection team at the district level here in
Tarime", Mr Asaph told the 'Daily News' over the weekend. He named
beneficiary wards as Susuni, Sabasaba, Sirari, Matongo and Nyamwaga.
"Already four child protection teams
have been formed and formation of the remaining team is underway at
Sabasaba ward," he said. Formation of the ward child protection teams,
he said will now make it possible for child activities to be monitored
from village to district level.
Meanwhile, around 31 primary and
secondary school teachers from the targeted five wards have undergone a
three-day intensive training on sexual health reproductive with the aim
of spreading the education to several hundreds of children under the EU
funded project.
According to Mr Asaph, the target is to
provide such education to 1,500 young girls and 400 young men under the
project. The training was held last week at a hotel in Tarime town. Plan
International Tanzania and CDF have also of late started using football
tournaments to enhance the battle against FGM and child marriages in
Tarime under the same project.
According to Mr Asaph, the football
tournaments campaign is designed to reach 700 girls aged between 10-14
and 600 more aged between 15-18. Mara is rated as one of the top five
FGM practising regions in the country.
FGM is illegal according to the laws of
the country but still some communities are still embracing the harmful
culture which exposes young girls to humiliation and severe pains during
and after the cut.
Reports show that around 1,600 girls
underwent the cut in some parts of Tarime district in 2014 alone.
Ongoing campaign against FGM in Tarime has seen serious interventions
from local and international organizations. Government officials are
also seen working close with the organizations hoping that the efforts
will finally end the cut in the region
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