Thresa Tembo (LSZ-006)

I was born December 8, 1999. I living in Lukata Community with my mother the first born in the family of five of which four are girls and one is boy. I am doing my ninth grade at Lukata Primary School. I lost my father when I was only three years old my mother had to take up the responsibility of taking care of my siblings and myself. She is not educated hence it was very difficult for her to find a job, she started a small business of selling vegetables at a very small scale in order to feed our which was not enough. Unfortunately I fell pregnant when I was 15 years of age and I had to stop school I now have a ten months old baby. Looking at the situation at home mother thought of marrying me off to the father of the child since she could not manage taking care both my baby and me. It was at this time the program on ending child marriage by implemented by LifeSavers intervened and reasoned with my family and the man’s family thereby stopping the marriage from going ahead. LifeSavers took me through counselling workshops for the girls withdrawn from marriages and prostitution. I have now changed in my behaviour and completely reformed has gone back to school. Before enrolling back to school we had seminar in which we were educated on the importance of education. I am now back in school and doing my grade 9. I appreciate the help that the organisation is rendering which will improve my poor family economic status and the future of my child. When I complete school I want to be a Teacher.