To protect yourself, you need to know your rights and have the confidence to set boundaries. But that's often not enough to stop violence. That's why students at Relijuu Primary School and Mramba Primary School learn self-defense strategies as part of our child protection project. One goal of the self-defense training is to protect girls from sexual violence so that they are not burdened by unwanted pregnancies. Pregnancy at a young age is not only risky for their health, but for a schoolgirl in Tanzania it usually also means the end of all her dreams: pregnant girls usually have to leave school and in most cases have no chance of continuing their education, let alone learning a trade or going to university. Pregnancy is one of the most common reasons why girls drop out of school early.

In our child protection project, children learn about their rights and are encouraged to seek help if their rights are violated. Their self-confidence is strengthened and they learn where to find help. The project is funded by Engagement Global with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the TOOLS FOR LIFE Foundation – thank you very much!