She told them she didn’t want to get married – but nobody cared.
The marriage was arranged anyway. Her mother and her aunt made the preparations. No-one in the family was moved by her tears.
She was just 14 years old.
This story is sadly typical of the experience of girls in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. Here around a quarter of women in their early twenties report that they were married before the age of 18. Forced marriage is illegal, as is any marriage to a girl younger than 16, but still the practice persists.
In Guinea-Bissau, around a quarter of women in their early twenties report that they were married before the age of 18. Can you help those who have turned to the Church for support? [Image for illustrative purposes. Credit: Fernando Makers/Pexelz]
The young girl in this story was able to escape before the wedding took place. Many do the same. Others flee from abuse and mistreatment at the hands of their new husband.
Left destitute, there is no help available.
Which is where you come in.
The Church in Guinea-Bissau is serving the most vulnerable, in responding to the call of our Lord: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).
Our partners are supporting 40 girls aged between 12 and 17 – but they need your help.
“When these come under the care of the Church, it finds itself powerless due to a lack of financial means to shelter and care for them,” explains Barnabas Aid’s Projects Manager for West Africa. “Many times they go to sleep without food.”
Can you provide food, education and other essentials for the victims of forced marriage? Can you help the Church continue to bear witness to our God who loves justice? Will you pray for those who have experienced trauma and abuse, and the people of Christ who serve them with love and compassion?
How you can pray
Lord God and Heavenly Father, we cry out to You on behalf of girls in Guinea-Bissau who have suffered the trauma of forced marriage. Please bless the work of Your Church in ministering to them, in providing both practically and spiritually. We pray for the success of this project, and all work to end child marriage and support its victims, for we ask it in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How you can give
£9 ($10.50 €9.50) could provide a week’s worth of food for a victim of forced marriage now being cared for by the Church – including fish, meat, beans, rice and noodles
£63 ($75; €70) could provide for food, hygiene items, school fees and school equipment for one girl for a month
£250 (€280; $300) could contribute towards the building of a safehouse for 40 girls being cared for by the Church (100 gifts of this amount could cover the total expense)
How you can give
$20 could provide a week’s worth of food for a victim of forced marriage now being cared for by the Church – including fish, meat, beans, rice and noodles
$140 could provide for food, hygiene items, school fees and school equipment for one girl for a month
$550 could contribute towards the building of a safehouse for 40 girls being cared for by the Church (100 gifts of this amount could cover the total expense)