Banana wata: Save the Children’s Children Forum Network members led two-day child marriage law awareness drives, meeting Banana Wata and Waterloo community leaders, children, parents and residents.
According to Sierra Leone News Agency, the August 26-27 engagements promoted Sierra Leone’s Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and its child-friendly version, deepening community understanding of the law and shared responsibility for shielding children from early and forced marriage.
The initiative began at the Chief Compound in Banana Wata, Western Area Urban, where forum members facilitated discussions on child marriage and the law’s provisions. Tenneh Doris Kargbo of the Advocacy and Communications Unit opened the session, emphasizing the importance of understanding and implementing the law. She highlighted Save the Children’s support for community efforts to protect girls and called for collective commitment to report suspected cases to the appropriate authorities.
Alimatu Giba Jalloh, outgoing National Welfare Person of the Children Forum Network, advocated for making the law accessible to children. She clarified who qualifies as a child, what constitutes child marriage, and who may be considered perpetrators, urging young people to know their rights and legal protections.
Discussions examined offences under the law, including fines, penalties, the prohibition of cohabitation with a child, penalties for obstructing police investigations, and the legal duty to report. The campaign then moved to the Anifa Community in Waterloo, where children, mainly young girls and boys, learned about the dangers and consequences of child marriage. Speaking in Krio for effective communication, forum members explained the law’s purpose and consequences for those who facilitate or perpetrate it.
Children and community members questioned the facilitators and gained a clearer understanding of legal protections against marriage before adulthood. Both engagements concluded with community members pledging joint action to prevent and eliminate child marriage. Organizers described the pledge as an important step toward strengthening grassroots child protection and tackling the social and systemic factors that continue to expose children to the practice, with participants and facilitators also posing for a group photograph.