Bangladesh

Like her friends, Trisha loved school and excelled in her studies. She dreamed of one day becoming a teacher. But that dream was soon challenged when her father, a fisherman, could no longer work and their income was gone. Helplessness set in, which led to despair. Weighing his options, Trisha’s father struggled to feed all his children. The only alternative available was to have Trisha, his only daughter, be married. While this was not an easy decision, he felt it necessary to ensure provision for her and the entire family.

Upon learning of the plan for her marriage, Trisha was devastated. Her dream and the innocence of youth would soon be extinguished. She said, “I saw only dark.” Through World Concern, she had learned about the dangers of early marriage—that girls given in child marriage are often injured during pregnancy and childbirth, many are malnourished, girls face physical and emotional abuse, and some husbands abandon them as they age.

In a desperate attempt to avoid these outcomes for herself, Trisha confided in her World Concern adolescent support group. A World Concern project officer and several members went to her father to inform him about the national law that prohibits marriage under the age of 18 for girls and the harmful effects early marriage and childbirth can have on girls. This information, along with added support for the family and a scholarship for Trisha to stay in school, changed her father’s decision and saved her from early marriage.

Now Trisha is pursuing her dream, along with 521 other girls and boys in Bangladesh who were given scholarships this year.

“I am very grateful to World Concern Bangladesh for their assistance,” Trisha said. “Without their support, I would have been unable to continue my studies, I would have had to drop out from school, and even would have been married at an early age. Now I can study, and I can achieve my dream.”