Raja’s story highlights how timely support can transform the lives of vulnerable girls facing child marriage, early pregnancy, and gender-based violence in Mangalla. Forced out of school at 15, she regained hope after receiving psychosocial care, family counselling, and coordinated health support, enabling her to safely deliver her baby and return to education.
In Mangalla, many girls face serious child protection risks including child marriage, early pregnancy, and gender based violence (GBV), making change often feel out of reach. Yet Raja*’s story demonstrates that with the right support, even the most vulnerable girls can reclaim their future.
At just 15 years old, Raja*’s life was abruptly disrupted. Forced into marriage and pushed out of school due to early pregnancy, her dreams of education vanished. Like many girls in her community coupled with traditional norms, she faced isolation, fear, and uncertainty about what is ahead and her future seemed gone.
Everything began to change when her case was identified and referred to Save the Children through Mangalla Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC). Through the intervention of Save the Children, Raja* was provided with psychosocial care, including individual counselling, emotional support, and family counselling, helping her rebuild her confidence and restore relationships strained by her experience and community’s perception of her situation.
She was also supported through coordinated efforts with healthcare providers such as the midwives to ensure she received monitored antenatal and postnatal care, safeguarding both her health and that of her baby.
Despite her age and likeliness of complications during pregnancy, Raja* safely delivered her baby. She was provided with basic support to manage her child, after few months, she was enrolled back to school. Today, she stands stronger, emotionally resilient, back in school, and actively engaged in her community. Her family, once part of her struggle, is now a source of encouragement and support.
Raja*’s transformation did not happen in isolation. It is part of a broader advocacy and community engagement effort under the Japan Platform （ジャパン・プラットフォーム）and セーブ･ザ･チルドレン･ジャパン（Save the Children Japan）, which challenges harmful norms such as child marriage and invests in the empowerment of girls and women. Through targeted interventions that combine protection, health, education, and livelihoods, the project is helping shift mindsets and create safer environments for girls and women across Mangalla and neighboring villages.
Now, Raja* is no longer just a survivor, she is an advocate. By sharing her story, she inspires other girls to seek support and reminds communities that change is possible.
A community once bound by harmful practices is beginning to change, one girl at a time.
