Eng Betty Makoni, Zimbabwe

Betty Makoni, Zimbabwe

NOMINATED • PAGES 66 – 91

BETTY MAKONI

Bang!

Betty Makoni awoke with a start. It was the middle of the night in the poor neighbourhood of Chitungwiza outside Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare. She heard it again: Bang! And again: Bang! The children began to cry. Just a few metres from Betty’s bed, masked men were breaking through the front door with an axe.

Fighting for girls’ rights can be dangerous!

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nce the door had been broken down, four men in balaclavas with axes and machete knives burst in to the little house.

One of the men pointed at Betty and shouted, “We’re going to kill you!

You’re the woman that causes nothing but trouble for us!”

Betty and her children were terrified. They shouted for help. When one of the men reached out for her oneyear-old son, Betty panicked.

“I thought they were going to kill him or kidnap him.

But we were lucky. My husband was meant to be away, and the men must have known that. But when they saw that he was home they ran away.”

This happened four years

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

WHY IS BETTY MAKONI BEING NOMINATED? Betty Makoni is being nominated for the 2007 WCPRC for her long struggle for girls in Zimbabwe to be freed from abuse and to have the same opportunities in life as boys. Through the Girl Child Network (GCN) Betty has built three safe villages (also called empowerment villages) for very vulnerable girls and started 500 girls’ clubs with 30,000 members, mostly in rural areas and in poor townships. Betty saves girls from child labour, forced marriage, abuse, trafficking and sexual assault.

She gives girls food, clothes, medical care, a home, the chance to go to school, and safety. Above all, she gives girls courage and strength to demand respect for their rights. Tens of thousands of girls have found their way to a better life because of Betty’s work. She and GCN speak out on behalf of girls in Zimbabwe by constantly encouraging the government and different organisa-

tions to take care of the country’s girls. But not everyone likes Betty’s work. She lives dangerously and she is constantly being threatened because of her work. zambia

namibia

Victoria Falls

Harare Chitungwiza

Hwange

Chitsotso

Zimbabwe

botswana 66 south africa

mozambique

Boys’ and girls’ names “The names we use in Zimbabwe say a lot about how we see boys and girls,” says Betty.

BOYS’ NAMES: MEANING:

Tawanda Garikai Talent GIRLS’ NAMES:

MEANING:

Netsai Muchaneta Tampuzai Silence

Girls bring problems You will become weary We become poor Silence

Betty (on the left) the year she started working.

ago, and it’s just one of the many times Betty’s life has been in danger because of her struggle for girls’ rights.

But she doesn’t give up.

“I know myself how it feels to have your rights violated. There’s nothing worse, not even death.

That’s why I keep going!”

Sold vegetables Betty’s own story starts in the poor neighbourhood of Chitungwiza. She lived there with her parents and younger siblings. But they were not a happy family.

“My childhood was terrible. My father beat my mother almost every night.

Mum couldn’t manage, so I had to start helping out at home at a young age.

The family is growing and is happy We are well Talent

When I was only five years old I used to clean and cook and carry my younger siblings on my back at the same time. Mum and Dad used to beat us children too. I never felt safe when I was young.”

Just like many other girls in her neighbourhood, Betty had to start working. From the age of five she walked around selling vegetables and candles every evening.

“While the girls were working we could see the boys our age playing. I thought it was incredibly unfair!”

The terrible man One evening when Betty was six years old, something

awful happened.

After several hours selling their goods, she and some friends arrived at their last customer. It was a man who owned a little shop.

“There were ten of us, all girls. Once we were all in the shop the man suddenly locked the door. He took out a knife and said that he would kill anyone who screamed or tried to resist.

Then he turned off the light.

Everything went pitch black.

We were scared to death but we didn’t dare call for help.

He raped us, one after another. In the end we managed to get away. Everyone ran home, and we never talked to each other about what had happened.”

“When I got home there was no-one to talk to. Dad wasn’t home and Mum was asleep. I could see that they had been fighting again. I

Betty and the girls from the girls’ club march for girls’ rights.

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Betty has been threatened many times, even with death, because she fights for girls’ rights.

cried silently so that I didn’t wake anyone. I felt dirty and totally abandoned. When I finally did fall asleep I had horrific dreams.”

Fighting for girls Despite everything that had happened, Betty continued to work every evening. When she started school she used some of the money she had earned to pay her school fees. It wasn’t always enough, and Betty was often sent home from school because she couldn’t pay.

“I was always tired but I carried on because I knew that life could be better, if only I could manage to finish school.”

The years went by and the nightmares continued. She often thought about how wrong it was that a grown man had hurt her so much.

She also thought about how wrong it was that her mum was always getting beaten.

Betty decided that one day 68

she would fight for a better life for girls and women in Zimbabwe.

The girls’ club When Betty was 24 she started work as a teacher.

She saw how hard things were for the girls. As soon as a family had difficulty paying the children’s school fees, it was always the girls who had to quit school while their brothers carried on. Soon the girls in Betty’s class started to talk to her about their problems. They told her about the male teachers who took advantage of them and about how hard it was for them to dare to speak up when the boys were around.

“Then I suggested that we girls should meet up and talk about things that are important to us. I suggested that we could have a club where girls take care of each other and help each other if something bad happens to

one of them. A club where they would grow strong and dare to demand the same rights in life as the boys.

They thought it was a great idea. There were ten of us who started meeting up a couple of times a week, either at school or at my house.”

“Slowly but surely, girls who had been subjected to rape and abuse started to come forward and tell us about it. We supported the girls and helped them to pluck up the courage to report the crime to the police. The men responsible ended up behind bars, and suddenly several of the male teachers quit their jobs at the school. They must have been too scared to stay on!”

The Girl Child Network The news of Betty’s girls’ club spread through the school like wildfire. Soon over a hundred girls had joined. And it wasn’t long

before girls’ clubs started up at other schools, first in Chitungwiza and then all over Zimbabwe.

“In 1999 I decided to start the Girl Child Network (GCN) so that all the girls’ clubs could support each other.”

“That same year I did a 200 km walk with 500 girls, out in the rural areas. We walked from village to village telling people about girls’ rights and about what we do at our girls’ clubs. At night we slept on the floor in the village schools. We were on the road for seventeen days and after that there were loads of girls who wanted to start their own clubs. Today there are 500 girls’ clubs with 30,000 members all over Zimbabwe!”

The clubs report to the Girl Child Network if anyone has been raped, had to quit school, or been forced to get married or start working. If

anyone needs help to pay for school fees, clothes, shoes or food, all the other girls in the group try to help them out. If they can’t manage it, they contact Betty. 5000 girls are able to go to school and eat their fill thanks to the Girl Child Network.

The safe villages Betty soon realised that many of the girls who were saved from abuse, child labour, forced marriage and rape needed a safe place to live. Often the girls couldn’t return to their families.

Since Betty made sure that many of those who committed crimes ended up in prison, she was afraid that they would come back to take revenge on the girls later.

So in 2001, the first ‘safe village’ was created. Since then two more villages have been built in other parts of Zimbabwe.

“There are 60 girls who have suffered some kind of abuse who live in the safe villages. We want to offer the girls safety and a chance to grow up as strong, independent women.”

Since Betty started the first girls’ club in 1998, her struggle has opened the door to a better life for tens of thousands of girls.

Betty never hesitates to point the finger at people

Soon the first girls’ club grew from ten members to a hundred. And since Betty and 500 girls walked 200km, from village to village, many new clubs have been founded.

We’re angry!

The Girl Child Network reports that 6000 girls are raped in Zimbabwe every year. However Betty believes the figure could be as high as 30,000, since a great many girls who are raped don’t dare to tell anyone about it. Many are afraid of being rejected and abandoned if they tell anyone, since some people believe that anyone who has been raped is ’dirty’.

“The girls in the Girl Child Network hold about 20 major marches every year. They march to show that they are angry about girls being raped in this country. And they demand that politicians and everyone else that lives in Zimbabwe does something about it! ” says Betty.

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who treat girls badly, even if they are powerful politicians. She has made plenty of enemies and has had lots of threatening phone calls in the middle of the night. Cars follow her around and the police carry out raids on her office. Betty has to have people around her to protect her at all times. Her children can’t even walk to school on their own as she is afraid something could happen to them.

“But I’m not going to let myself get scared. My dream is for Zimbabwe to be a country where boys and girls have the same opportunities in life. But every day I get about ten phone calls from girls who have been raped.

It’s also harder for girls to go to school. They get married off or forced to work instead. There’s a war being fought against girls here.

And as long as what happened to me when I was little continues to happen to girls, I’ll keep fighting for them!” 

The Girl Child Network doesn’t let anyone down!

“At the beginning the idea was that all the girls’ club members would pay 50,000 Zimbabwean dollars (50 US cents) every year. That’s not really much money, and we needed it. But it was still too much for many of the poorest girls in the rural areas. Since it’s those girls who are most at risk

of being taken advantage of, they need the girls’ club more than anyone else. So that we didn’t let them down, we decided to stop charging a fee. Instead, every club tries to earn a bit of money to help those in need. Some grow and sell vegetables, others make baskets and sell them,” explains Betty.

Betty Makoni

Girls treated badly all over the world “Girls are discriminated against all over the world for two reasons: because they are children and because they are girls. This means that girls may be the most vulnerable group in society,” says Betty Makoni.

A

lthough all countries, including Zimbabwe, have laws banning discrimination against girls, they are still treated badly. Many girls are forced into early marriage, genital mutilation, rape and the worst kinds of child labour, like prostitution.

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Of the 121 million children in the world who don’t go to school, 65 million are girls.

In Africa south of the Sahara Desert, where Zimbabwe is, there are at least 24 million girls who don’t go to school.

Of the 150 million children who quit school before the

fifth grade, 100 million are girls. Girls (and boys) who don’t learn to read and write can be tricked and taken advantage of more easily. Of the 875 million adults in the world who can’t read or write, almost 600 million are women.

All over the world, women are usually not as well-paid as men, even when they do exactly the same job.

Although women carry out two-thirds of the world’s work they only earn a tenth of

the world’s income. Men have more power, both in politics and in the economy, since it’s more common that managers and leaders are men.

The fact that girls are treated worse than boys goes against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It states that everyone is born equal and should have the same opportunities in life, regardless of whether you are a boy or a girl.

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : PAUL BLOMGREN

The girls’ holy mountain

In eastern Zimbabwe there is a mountain called Chitsotso. It is the girls’ holy mountain. This is the story of the princesses who live in Betty’s safe village at the foot of the mountain…

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here was once a chief called Gunguwo. He lived in the 17th century in the country that is now called Tanzania.

One day, Gunguwo went off on a long journey with his sister Masere and his people.

The chief and his sister fought against other chiefdoms along the way. They won many battles. Finally, they arrived at a beautiful place where they decided to stay, and they called it Makoni. This was at the foot of a mountain, in the country that we now call Zimbabwe.

Chief Gunguwo was deeply impressed by his sister’s great wisdom and strength in the battles they had fought along the way. He realised that he would never have made it to this new,

beautiful place without her help. So he decided to give her the title of Muzvare, which means princess. He said, “This is my sister and we fought side by side. She is my equal.”

As proof that he meant what he said he gave his sister a large piece of land. On this land lay the mountain which would later come to be called Chitsotso. It was very unusual for women to own land and have power, but all the men in Makoni had great respect for the princess. Since they respected the princess, they also treated the other women in the area well.

out to gather firewood, they often climbed the mountain of the first princess and sat there to talk. That’s why the mountain came to be known as Chitsotso, which means “wood”. It was the princesses’ own mountain, and no man was allowed to be there without their permission.

There they could talk about everything that was important to them.

The mountain was also holy. The people of Makoni

believed the princesses had power over the rain. And it was on the mountain that the princesses carried out their rain ceremony every year. They killed a cow and prayed to the spirits of earlier princesses for rain. If both the living and the dead princesses were satisfied with their people, they allowed the rain to come. If they were not satisfied, the rain didn’t come. Since the people were farmers, they

Betty with the girls from the safe village at the girls’ holy mountain.

The mountain of princesses Chief Gunguwo’s four sons became chiefs after him.

When their daughters went 71

on t

Tariro, 13

Good at: Maths and English.

Wants to be: A teacher.

Princess Betty Makoni is up on Chitsotso with some of the girls who live in the safe village at the foot of the mountain. She asks them about their dreams.

Pamela, 14

with her daughter Samantha, 6 months Good at: Cooking and taking care of children.

Wants to be: A flight attendant.

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“

ever forget that this is your holy mountain, nobody can take it away from you. If you feel afraid or unwell, you should come up here. Do you sometimes feel small, like you’re not worth anything? Like you are not as good as others?”

The girls nod. They often feel small and sometimes worthless.

“Then you really should come up here. Look around!

When you’re up here you’re higher than all others. You are as important as anyone else, and you can be whatever you want to be! Why don’t you tell me what you’re good at, and what you’d like to do in the future? What are your dreams?”

Nomsa, 16

Good at: Netball and singing.

Wants to be: A soldier.

depended heavily on the rain. To make sure that the rain would come, the people treated the princesses and all the women in the chiefdom well.

Princess Betty One day, almost 400 years after chief Gunguwo gave the mountain to his sister Masere, the chief of Makoni read about a woman in Chitungwiza township in the newspaper. She fought 72

for girls who had a hard life.

That woman was called Betty Makoni. The chief realised then that Betty was a princess, and descendant of chief Gunguwo’s youngest son.

One day, Betty travelled to the Makoni chiefdom.

“I told them about my plans to create a safe village for girls who have a really hard life. Then the chief said, ‘We have been waiting for you. You are the princess

who is going to make sure that the power of girls and women lives on here in Makoni! We want you to build your safe place for girls here, on the princesses’ ground beside Chitsotso.

It has always been a holy place for girls, and we give you this mountain so that you can take care of girls who need help.’

“I built the first safe village below the mountain, and today there are twenty girls

living there. It used to be that only girls like me, daughters of chiefs, were princesses in Makoni. But since the girls in the safe village guard Chitsotso when I’m not there, they are also seen as princesses. And for me, all the girls in the village really are princesses who should be treated well. All the girls in the world should be treated like princesses!” says Betty Makoni. 

“I’m good at singing and I’d like to be a teacher,” says Charity.

“Sing for us!” says Betty.

Charity shyly sings a song and everyone claps. Then she beams with pride.

“I like running, and I want to be a lawyer when i grow up,” says Rumbidzai.

“Alright then, show us how fast you are!” says Betty.

Rumbidzai kicks off her shoes and runs as fast as she

can. Everyone cheers!

Finally, all the girls have said what they are good at.

Betty smiles.

“Never forget this. You are all good at something, and you’re great just the way you are! I promise we’ll do everything we can to make sure each one of you achieves your dreams!” 

Tendai, 15

Good at: Playing football and singing.

Wants to be: An air marshal.

Rumbidzai, 17 Good at: Running and swimming.

Wants to be: A lawyer.

Charity, 12

Good at: Singing.

Wants to be: A teacher.

A child dies every 15 minutes “We still have a rain ceremony on 19 September every year. And when one of the girls in our safe villages dies, they always take a special jar from the rain ceremony to the grave with them. So far, five of our girls have passed

away. Some of them had AIDS. Many of the girls in Zimbabwe who get raped get HIV/ AIDS,” says Betty.

Zimbabwe is one of the worst-affected countries in the world in terms of HIV/AIDS. A quarter of the popula-

tion – 2 million people – is HIV positive. 120,000 of these are children under the age of 15.

A child dies of AIDS every 15 minutes, and 1.3 million children are orphans.

Jar from the rain ceremony.

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 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

n the mountain

Memory, 13

with her son Tinashe, 3 months Good at: Sewing and giving first aid.

Wants to be: The leader of a safe village for girls, like Betty!

“ Betty saved my life!”

“I’ll never forget when I saw Tsitsi for the first time. She was lying on my sofa and looked so small and scared. She was eight years old, and had been beaten so badly that she had deep wounds on her back. I thought she was going to die,” says Betty.

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ears ran down Tsitsi’s cheeks as Betty bathed her wounds. After a while, Betty started to tell Tsitsi about how she had been abused at home when she was a little girl. Tsitsi lay silently on the sofa, but after a few hours she dared to tell Betty what had happened...

Mother died Tsitsi had lived with her mother in a little house in Chitungwiza. Her father didn’t live with them but he 74

used to visit them often.

Sometimes he also gave them money. She liked her father, but she loved her mother. The two of them were best friends.

When Tsitsi was in first grade, her mother fell ill.

“I cooked food and helped my mum as much as I could, but one day she just died.

That same evening, Dad came and took me back to his house. I missed Mum so incredibly much. At the same time, I was glad I had a father who could take care of me.”

For the first little while,

Tsitsi’s father was kind.

“He didn’t really comfort me, but he gave me food and helped me so that I could keep going to school. We didn’t talk that much, but I felt safe. I thought that life would probably be okay after all.”

After a couple of months Tsitsi’s father became ill, and everything changed. He didn’t have a permanent job and started to have problems paying rent for the house. It even became hard to buy food and the other

things they needed. He blamed Tsitsi for all the bad things that happened.

Started to beat her “Dad got angry about nothing. If I played with my friends for too long he went crazy. And even when I hadn’t done anything wrong he still shouted at me. He even started to make things up. He claimed that I had wet the bed, even if I hadn’t.

He would beat me as a punishment. He used his belt or a stick, and hit me on the

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : PAUL BLOMGREN

Together…

… the girls in the safe village sweep the yard…

...and wash the dishes.

back, the chest… everywhere. I was in agony but I didn’t dare call for help. He said it would get worse if I did.”

“Dad beat me almost every evening. I hoped that he would stop if I was extra good. I helped with everything – cleaned, did the shopping, and cooked the food. When he was sick I took care of him. But he beat me anyway.”

One evening things got even worse than usual.

“I had just gone to bed

when he told me to come and lie down on his bed. At first I didn’t understand what he meant. Then I realised that he wanted to do bad things to me. When I refused, he hit me with an electrical cable. At the same time, he held up a knife and said that he would kill me if I screamed. I couldn’t defend myself, and in the end he did it. My own father.”

Tsitsi hurried to school early the next morning before her father woke up, but she didn’t dare to tell

anyone what had happened.

“I knew that I had to go home to Dad again, since I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I hoped it would never happen again.”

On the way home from school, Tsitsi searched for coins on the street.

“I thought that if I could give Dad some medicine he’d be nice to me. By the time I got home I had enough money to buy a couple of pills.

But it didn’t help. That night

“Every afternoon after school we sit around the fire and wait for the food to cook. We tell stories and sing. I love sitting here with the other girls,” says Tsitsi.

You can join in the fun around the fire in Tsitsi’s village, at

www.childrensworld.org

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he did it again. And the next night, and the next...”

Finally Tsitsi told her teacher, who called Betty Makoni straight away. That very afternoon, Girl Child Network came and collected Tsitsi from school.

Finally saved “Betty saved my life and I love her! She took me to hospital and took care of me.

But for the first while I was often sad and I had nightmares. At first I lived in a ‘safe house’ in Chitungwiza

Tsitsi, 11

for six months, but then I moved here to one of Betty’s safe villages. There are 20 of us girls living in the village, and we do everything together like a family. We play, clean, wash the dishes, sleep, go to school... every-

Remembers her mum

Lives: In one of Betty’s safe villages for girls.

Loves: Going to school.

Hates: Adults who treat children badly.

Worst thing that’s happened: When my own father abused me.

Best thing that’s happened: When I pass exams at school.

Looks up to: Betty Makoni!

Wants to be: A leader of a safe village for girls, or a pilot.

Dream: That adults will stop taking advantage of children.

“My mum was a seamstress and she taught me to sew.

I think of her every time I sew.

I miss her so much. I don’t miss dad at all. Betty helped me to pluck up the courage to report him to the police. He ended up in jail, but since he was so ill it wasn’t long before he died.”

Play the bottle game!

2

1

3 Newspaper ball “It only took a few minutes to make this ball. I pressed newspaper into a bag. We use the ball when we play the bottle game,” says Tsitsi.

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4

thing! All of us have had a hard time and we understand each other.”

“I love playing with the others. It helps me forget everything that happened with my dad. It’s the same in school. I concentrate on learning new things there instead of thinking about the past. When I miss my mum and feel sad, I go and talk to one of the three village mothers. It feels great to know that there’s always someone here who cares about me. The village mothers take care of us, cook our food and wake us in the morning so that we’re not late for school. Before we go they make sure that our uniforms are right and that

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we’ve got our books. But most of all, they give us love.

I feel happy and safe here.”

“I’m at my happiest when Betty comes to visit. She is like a mother to me. Without Betty, I would probably have ended up on the street and had to scavenge for food in bins. That is a terrible way to live, and lots of the girls who live on the street are taken advantage of by grown-ups. If she hadn’t saved me I think I would have died on the street.

When I grow up I want to lead one of Betty’s safe villages for girls!” 

he Bottle game is played on a gravel or sand pitch. An empty plastic bottle is placed in the middle of the pitch.

Two teams, with as many members as you like, play against each other. The first team is divided into two groups who stand fifteen metres apart with the bottle in the middle.

They are called the ‘outer team’ and they throw the ball back and forth to each other. Between them stand the ‘inner team’.

They have to try not to get hit when someone in the outer team suddenly throws the ball at them. Anyone who gets hit is out. When everyone in the inner team is out, the outer team has won and the teams swap places.

The inner team can rescue members of their team who are out. When the outer team throw the ball, someone from the inner team has to catch it in their hands, without being hit anywhere else. The person who catches the ball throws it as far away as they can. While the outer team run to fetch the ball, the inner team fill the plastic bottle with sand and then pour the sand straight out again. If the inner team manage to do all of this before the outer team have brought the ball back, then they rescue everyone who is out, and they are allowed to continue the game!

60 girls in three villages “I love Tsitsi. We are so close. She reminds me so much of myself when I was small. Every time I see her it gives me energy to work even harder for girls’ rights.

There are 60 girls living in our three safe villages, and all of them have experienced something similar to Tsitsi. In the villages they get protection and support so that they can grow up to be strong. We try to help the girls move in with family members or relatives, but if that’s not possible they stay in the village until they can manage on their own,” says Betty.

Loves high rises “My favourite place is our capital city, Harare. I like the high rise buildings and there is electricity there. The streets are lit up and the people who live there can watch TV. We don’t have electricity yet in the village, but Betty said that we’ll have it soon. Then we’ll be able to watch TV too,” says Tsitsi.

“When we get electricity we’ll make sure that the villages around us get the good of it too. We’re going to build a mill where the farmers can grind their maize. That will save them from travelling a long way to do it. The money we earn from the mill will mean that we can continue to pay for food, school fees and

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Lisa

fights for girls’ rights

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : PAUL BLOMGREN

“Having your rights respected means getting to be who you want to be, without anyone pushing you down,” says Lisa.

And Lisa knows who she wants to be.

“I want to be like Betty Makoni. She’s my hero! I too want to be someone who helps girls to stand up for their rights.”

I

t’s lunchtime at Lisa’s school in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe.

The girls from the girls’ club begin to gather on the football pitch, as they do every Monday and Wednesday. Within a few minutes, over a hundred girls are sitting in small groups talking. After a while, Lisa gets up. She stretches one arm up towards the sky and shouts: “Girl child!”

The others get up and reply: 78

“Sky is the limit!”

They shout so loud that the boys playing football a little further away stop playing and sit at the side of the pitch, surprised.

“Girl Child!” shouts Lisa again.

“Sky is the limit!” everyone replies, even louder this time.

When they have sat down, Lisa welcomes everyone to the meeting. She starts with a good piece of news: “You know we’ve been The sky really is the limit for these girls!

selling books and pens for the last little while, and I just want to tell you that we have now gathered enough money to pay school fees for twelve of our friends. Now they can keep going to school a while longer! Isn’t that great?”

The twelve girls stand up, and it seems like the other girls’ applause is never going to end.

Manage on their own When the clapping has died down, Lisa continues by asking if anyone has a prob-

Lisa, 12

It’s Lisa’s job to fetch water.

lem, or if they know anyone else who needs help. One of the girls stands up: “A girl called Grace has stopped coming to school and I don’t know why. We must make sure that nothing bad has happened to her.

Maybe we can write a letter to her mum?”

They talk for a little while about what they should do and decide that the best

thing is probably to send a letter.

“A girl called Evelyn has had to go to the city to work as a maid. I think we should give her some money so that she can come back to the village and start school again,” says another girl.

“I don’t have any shoes,” says a little girl shyly, and sits quickly back down.

Someone suggests that

CD for girls’ rights!

Lisa and twelve other girls in her girls’ club got to travel to the capital city, Harare, to record one of the songs on a CD for girls’ rights. The CD is called Wake Up Girls, because girls need to wake up and know their rights.

The song that Lisa sings on is called Rega Kuchema (Stop Crying).

“My dream is to become a doctor, but I could also imagine becoming a pop star. It was so cool to be in the studio,” says Lisa.

Listen to Lisa’s song at

www.childrensworld.org

they should ask Betty for more money so that they can solve the problems. But then Lisa gets up again: “No, we can’t just ask for help the whole time. We have to fi nd our own ways of making money. We need to work harder selling pens, books and vegetables so that we can help even more people!”

Everyone nods and agrees.

Lives: In Makoni village, beside the girls’ holy mountain, Chitsotso.

Loves: My mum.

Hates: When I´m ill and can’t go to school.

Worst thing that’s happened: That dad hit mum.

Best thing that’s happened: When I was chosen to be one of the leaders of all the girls’ clubs in Zimbabwe.

Looks up to: My hero Betty Makoni!

Wants to be: A doctor.

Dream: That all girls all over the world will become strong and know their rights.

Mum was beaten When Lisa gets home from school, her mum, Fortunate, has already cooked dinner – maize and beans.

Afterwards Lisa washes the dishes before going out to water the vegetable patch.

“I try to help mum as much as I can. I love her.

And she’s alone,” says Lisa, looking down at the ground.

A few years have passed since the terrible things that happened to her mum, but she still fi nds it hard thinking about it. Lisa still has nightmares and often wakes up in the middle of the night.

“I was only four when it started. My dad drank and he used to beat my mum almost every night.

Sometimes mum was 79

Dolls just for girls?

Lisa and her mum sew dolls’ clothes.

unconscious on the floor, but he just carried on hitting her. When I cried and shouted at him to stop, he went crazy. He chased me and my brother away from the house. Then we weren’t allowed in again. Even if it was cold, even in the middle of winter, we had to lie and sleep on the veranda outside the house. We lay really close together to try to keep warm, but it was impossible to sleep. We were so cold that we shivered, and we could hear mum screaming

The Girl Child Network tries to help the very poorest girls, especially in the rural areas. There are 120 girls in Lisa’s club. When Betty Makoni comes to one of their meetings she asks what their biggest problems are and what the girls most need help with.

Their reply was:

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in the house. The worst thing was that I couldn’t do anything to help her.”

The girls’ club Things were awful for three years. But one day, Lisa’s mum decided she wasn’t going to let herself be beaten any more.

“I both love and admire mum for being so strong that she dared to get up and say ‘that’s enough’. That he never got to hit her again,

and that he had to go and leave the family in peace.”

The same year that Lisa’s dad moved out, she joined the Girl Child Network’s girls’ club at school. She was only seven at the time.

“I wanted to do something so that no girl ever has to experience the terri-

“The best thing I own is my doll Jennifer. I got her from my mum when I was six.

Often on Sundays after church my mum and I sew new dresses for Jennifer.

I love my doll, but I think it should be okay for girls to play with cars. And for boys to play with dolls. But parents here really don’t think that’s okay.

I think that girls are given dolls because people want to prepare us for becoming mothers and taking care of children. Boys get their toys so that they can practice for doing difficult technical jobs.

I don’t understand that at all.

It’s so crazy! Girls can do technical things too. It is my dream for girls all over the world to be able to train for those jobs that are almost always done by boys at the moment. I think we should become doctors, pilots, engineers and even presidents!”

How are the girls?

42 have no shoes 41 have no school uniform 32 have no underwear 46 have no school books 22 are going to be sent home from school because they haven’t paid their fees 11 have lost both parents 33 have lost their father

8 have lost their mother 11 have a seriously ill mother 1 has a seriously ill father 1 has a seriously ill father and mother 62 are ill themselves

“It’s so sad that all of you who fight so hard to be able to go to school come to this meeting both barefoot and hungry. I’m so proud of you, that you still manage to meet and fight for your rights,” says Betty.

Cars just for boys?

The wheels of the wire car kick up dust as 12-year-old Award proudly steers his car.

“I make these cars myself. It takes three days to make a car. First I collect the steel wire that we use when we build houses. Then I start to bend it. The wheels are made from old plastic bottle tops. To make the back wheels wider I join four lids together by carefully melting the seams over the fire. When the steering mechanism is finished, the car is ready to drive. I’m really careful with the car – it’s my only toy.”

ble things my mum went through. I knew that the GCN fought for girls’ rights, so the girls’ club was perfect for me. The club is a place where we girls can talk about the things that are important to us. We take care of each other and help each other to be strong. In the girls’ club we’re safe.

Outside the clubs, girls aren’t at all safe in Zimbabwe. We are raped, abused and have to do all

the house work while the boys play and have fun. If a family doesn’t have much money it’s always the boys that get to go to school. The girls have to start working or are married off to some older man. The man pays lobola (a dowry) to the girl’s family, and the parents then use that money for the boys’ school fees. It’s so terribly unfair! I get so angry when I think about it!”

Loves Zimbabwe “Boys and girls are worth the same, and both want to have a good future. We girls have to explain this to our parents and everyone else.

Lisa’s club helps girls “Sometimes we get money from Betty. Then we buy school books and pens and we sell them. But we also sell vegetables from our own vegetable patches. We usually work on our vegetable patches at breaktimes. While helping others, we also learn about how to grow vegetables. That means that we’ll be able to manage better when we’re finished school, even if we don’t get jobs.

We sell the

vegetables and books to our parents and teachers. We use the money to buy school books and pens for the girls who can’t afford them.

Sometimes we even pay people’s school fees. With the money we make by sell-

ing things, our club helps twelve girls pay school fees and buys school books and pens for 30 girls.”

The girls’ club members sell the vegetables that they grow.

But it’s still unusual here for girls to dare to say what they think openly. Luckily enough, we’ve got help.

Betty Makoni helps us to dare to be confident and

What can Lisa’s club do with the money?

On a good day, Lisa and the other girls can earn as much as 5,000 Zimbawean dollars ($20 US) Here’s what they can do with the money: Pay school fees for one term for 5 girls... … or buy 27 exercise books’ or 94 pencils or 31 pens!

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Writing poetry “We write lots of poems in the girls’ clubs,” says Lisa. If something bad happens to one of us, it’s a good way of explaining what happened. Every new member of the girls’ clubs gets a diary too. We write in our diaries about everything that happens in our lives, both good and bad things.

We write about our dreams, but if we or our friends have been victims of violence or abuse we write about that too.

Lisa does her homework.

Lisa saved me!

Every day when Lisa was on her way to school, she saw how Christine was beaten in her home. She felt that she had to do something, and one afternoon the girls’ club knocked on Christine’s door… demand our rights. She’s my hero!”

“Despite all the problems we have, I love Zimbabwe.

It’s incredibly beautiful here and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I plan to stay here and fight for a better life for the girls here. And I actually believe things will get better in the future, even if it takes a long time. I help to arrange meetings and marches where we tell peo-

ple about girls’ rights, but I think we need to work even harder. All girls must also dare to start talking about these problems with their male friends. Because if the boys know how hard things are for us, I believe that they’ll change. They’ll become good men who take care of their daughters and wives in the future!” 

Safe village goats “Many of the girls in my club live in Betty’s safe village, which is really nearby. The girls there don’t just learn to grow vegetables – they also take care of goats and chickens. They get food from the goats and learn how to take care of them, all in one go,” says Lisa.

Beautiful baskets Lisa’s club grows vegetables and sells books. The girls in other clubs weave baskets, which they sell.

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“Lisa and five other girls stood at the door. I had been beaten every day since I was ten years old. I didn’t know why my mum did it and it made me ill. When Lisa asked Mum why she beat me, she didn’t answer. When Mum didn’t reply, Lisa threatened to phone the police. She said that they would put her in prison. Mum got angry, but I think more than anything she was scared, because she agreed to stop. Since then she has never hit me again. Now we’re friends and I love my mum.

I think it was incredibly brave of Lisa to dare to come to our house and tell Mum to stop. If Lisa hadn’t saved me I would still be getting beaten.

Lisa and I hang out

together a lot at school.

We tell each other everything because we trust each other.”

Christine, 12

Esther’s future stolen

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“

oth my parents died when I was two. My sister and I stayed on in Mum and Dad’s house and our uncles took care of us. My brothers moved to Harare to work.

I used to go to church with my uncles every Sunday. It’s the tradition in their church to marry off young girls to older men in the congregation. Since I had been a member of the church since I was little, I thought it was normal, and the only right thing to do. Nonetheless, I thought that it was something that only happened to other people. But one Sunday last year, the old men at church said it was my turn.

I panicked and tried to run

away, but the adults trapped me. I screamed and cried but no-one cared. They threw me in a car and drove away.

After a while we arrived at a house. They said that my husband lived there and dropped me off.

I didn’t dare to do anything other than stay. He slept with me and I was afraid I would get pregnant.

How could I, an elevenyear-old, take care of a child? I was worried and cried. I thought about running away all the time, but the house was out in the bush.”

Saved by Betty “After a few days, the man went away to work. One morning I was woken by a

woman shouting outside the house. It was Betty. I was so incredibly glad! She told me that my brothers in Harare had been absolutely furious when they heard that I had been married off. They talked to a journalist who wrote about it in the paper.

Betty had read the paper and decided to save me. She had been searching all night.

Betty took me to one of her safe villages. I went to school and I was really happy. Betty made sure that the man who I had been married to ended up in jail.

Now I live with my brothers and I go to a new school.

Nobody at school knows that I used to be married. I don’t want to talk about it because I’m scared that no-

one will want to be with me if they know. Scared that they’ll tease me.

Now I’m doing well and I’m so deeply grateful that Betty saved me. If she hadn’t helped me I’m sure my life would have been awful. I wouldn’t have been able to continue at school, and what kind of job can you get if you haven’t got an education? No girl should be put through that!

I can imagine getting married when I’m about 28.

But fi rst I’m going to fi nish school and start working to help girls. Just like Betty!” 

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 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

Esther was eleven years old when the elders in the church she belonged to forced her to marry an old man.

“They stole her future,” says Betty Makoni. “Forced marriage is a very serious violation of the rights of the child. It robs young girls of their dignity.”

Get married or get t When Jacqueline went to school that Friday, she thought it was going to be just another normal day. But after assembly in the morning, the headmaster came into the sixth grade classroom…

T

he headmaster began to call out names.

Those whose names were called had to stand up. Jacqueline realised straight away it was the pupils who couldn’t afford to pay school fees whose names were being called out.

She stared down at her desk, but the headmaster still saw her.

“Jacqueline!”

Jacqueline stood up cautiously. She felt stupid.

The headmaster turned to the children, who stared at the floor, embarrassed.

“If you want a ticket to this classroom, you have to pay your school fees.

Understand? Go home and get some money! Don’t ever try to set foot in this school again if you haven’t paid your school fees! Now go!”

No-one can pay “I felt so small when she kicked us out. As though I wasn’t worth anything. I cried because I really loved school,” says Jacqueline.

Jacqueline’s family had always had problems paying school fees. But when she was in fifth grade her father died, and then it became impossible.

“My relatives helped me for a while, but they don’t have much money either and they have to pay their own children’s fees. Mum’s new husband pays for my brothers and his own children.”

When Jacqueline came home and said that she had been thrown out of school, her mother and grandma were sad.

“I don’t have a job or any money, so I don’t know what to do. Maybe you should get married or start working as a maid so that you can survive,” said her mum.

Jacqueline’s whole body seized up. Had she heard her mother right?

“It hurt so much when Mum said I should get married or get a job. I almost couldn’t breathe.

I was still a child after all! I wanted to go to school and have a good life!”

It’s Jacqueline’s job to fetch water.

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No future “It was impossible to get to sleep that night. I just lay there crying, thinking about what Mum had said. Starting work as a maid sounded like the least bad option. Maybe I’d soon be able to earn enough money to start school again. But deep down I didn’t believe I’d ever be able to go to school again. My future had been destroyed.”

The next morning, Jacqueline felt so sick that she couldn’t do anything.

The days passed. After two weeks, a woman trader came to the village. She said that she needed a maid for her house in town.

“At fi rst I refused. But my grandma said it would only be until I had saved up enough to pay my school fees. In the end I agreed. I was afraid that my family would marry me off if I refused.

I cried as I packed my skirt and blouse in my bag.”

Dead tired “When we arrived I saw that the house was big and

grand. The woman said that I was to dust, mop and dry the floors. I had only ever swept earthen floors before and I told the woman that I was scared I wouldn’t manage it. Then she got angry and said that I should have thought of that before she bought my bus ticket. If I didn’t want to work for her, I’d have to repay the money for the ticket.”

Jacqueline got up at five every morning and made breakfast for the woman’s children. Then she took the two youngest boys to nursery. When she got back she cleaned the whole house.

“I fi nally fi nished cleaning at one o’clock and only then could I eat my breakfast porridge. Then I washed all the dishes. Later, when the family had eaten dinner, I washed up again.”

Jacqueline bathed the children before they went to bed, and then dealt with the family’s dirty laundry.

When she had fi nished washing and hanging the clothes, she ironed the laun-

Jacqueline prepares the dinner with her brothers and cousins.

Jacqueline likes sweeping up at home, but it was terrible working for the woman in the city.

Jacqueline, 14 Lives: In the village of Gamba.

Loves: Going to school.

Hates: When boys take advantage of girls.

Worst thing that’s happened: When I had to quit school and start working.

Best thing that’s happened: When the GCN saved me and brought me back to school.

Looks up to: Betty Makoni, of course!

Wants to be: Like Betty and help girls who have a hard life.

Dream: To study at university.

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 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

t to work!

dry from the day before.

Jacqueline was exhausted, but before she went to sleep on the floor of her little boxroom she had to wipe all the shelves in the kitchen cupboards.

“I never went to bed before eleven o’clock, and often it was one o’clock before I got to bed.

Although I was dead tired I couldn’t sleep. My head was full of sad thoughts. I often thought about how I made breakfast for the woman’s daughter, who was the same

age as me. It seemed so unfair. After all, I should have been going to school too, just like her.”

Abused One afternoon, after Jacqueline had been working there for a month, the boys came home from nursery. They wanted Jacqueline to carry them on her back.

“But I was in the middle of mopping the floor, and I couldn’t carry them at the same time. Then they started to hit me with a stick.

When I took the stick away from them, they started to cry. Then the older girl told the woman that I had hit the children. The woman was furious and started to beat me with a broom until my nose began to bleed. Then I ran away.”

Soon Jacqueline bumped into some of the leaders of the Girl Child Network girls’ club at her school.

“What were the chances of that happening? They said that they were out looking for me. Everyone in the

When Jacqueline worked in the house in the city she couldn’t sleep even though she was exhausted. She longed to come home to her family.

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club had become worried when they hadn’t seen me for a while. Now they had come to take me home. They told me that GCN had already paid my school fees, and that all I needed to do was to come back to school.

I was delighted!”

A good life “Before going home to my village, we went to the police station together and reported the woman for abuse. She had to pay me compensation. The police

also asked if the woman had paid me for my work, but of course she hadn’t. So they made her pay my salary too.”

The very next day, Jacqueline started school again.

“I had dreamt of coming back for so long. Now I think I’m going to have a good life. When I grow up I want to fight for girls to be able to go to school, so that they can have a good future.

Children should go to school, not work!” 

My favourite possession “My favourite possession is my maths book.

The first lesson I went to after the Girl Child Network had saved me and brought me back to school was maths. That’s why I love reading this maths book! ”

7000 saved from child labour Every day Jacqueline has to clean the house and the yard, fetch water and cook food. What’s more, she goes to school and does her homework.

“Even though my life is hard, I have an opportunity that many girls in Zimbabwe can only dream of. I’ve been so lucky! Without Betty Makoni, I’d never have been

going to school now.”

Betty thinks that roughly every fourth girl in Zimbabwe has to stop school because of poverty, just as Jacqueline did.

“But at least we’ve been able to rescue 7000 girls from child labour, and helped them to start school again,” says Betty.

Jacqueline is delighted to be back in the classroom.

5000 girls get help “The GCN helps me pay my school fees, and I also get maize, beans and oil when the food from Grandma’s field runs out,” says Jacqueline.

The Girl Child Network often visits the homes of

the girls from the girls’ clubs, to find out which of them need help the most.

“Right now, 5000 poor girls are getting help from us to pay for their school fees and uniforms. But they also get food. It’s

impossible to learn things and develop if you’re hungry,” says Betty Makoni.

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Jacqueline and the wild animals

Hippo in the veggie patch

The area where Jacqueline lives is called Hwange. There are both lions and elephants here. Once or twice, Jacqueline’s close calls with the wild animals could have ended badly…

“One day when I was watering the vegetable patch by the river we saw something coming towards us through the long grass.

At first everyone thought it was a cow.

But as it got closer, we noticed that it didn’t have any horns and that its hide looked different. We got scared and shouted for my uncle, who works on one of the game reserves here in Hwange. He saw that it was a hippopotamus, and said that we shouldn’t get close to it. Hippos can become dangerous if they get scared or irritated. He fired a shot into the air with his rifle to scare it away. But instead it charged towards us and my uncle had to shoot it.

I don’t like wild animals.

They’re dangerous. But I know that foreign tourists love to come here to see the animals.

Most of all they want to see ‘The Big Five’.”

Baboon stole watermelon “During the summer season I work in my grandma’s field every Saturday. We grow pumpkins, watermelons and maize there. In the mountains around the field there are lots of baboons. They often come down and try to eat our crops. Once, when my aunt and I were sitting eating watermelon, a baboon came run-

ning towards us. It was screeching and swinging a large branch.

We were terrified! Before we could get away, the baboon hit my aunt on the back and whacked me across the shins. I ran one way and my aunt ran the other way.

From a distance, I saw how the baboon sat down quite calmly at the edge of the field and ate up my watermelon. Although that was five years ago, I always carry a stick with me so I can defend myself if I get attacked again!”

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN PHOTO : PAUL BLOMGREN

Wants a free school uniform “The Girl Child Network has promised that it’s my turn to get a uniform the next time there’s some money. That’s going to be great, because it’s hard not to have a uniform at school.

Sometimes the others say: “Hey you, the one that can’t afford a

uniform, come here!” and I get embarrassed and feel so worthless. It’s a good thing that those who can afford uniforms buy their own. But those of us who can’t afford them should get free uniforms and shouldn’t have to pay fees!” says Jacqueline.

What does a uniform cost?

Dress Top Shoes Socks

10,500 Z dollars 5,000 Z dollars 5,000 Z dollars 1,000 Z dollars

Pants Bag Total

2,700 Z dollars 1,000 Z dollars 25,200 Z dollars (100 US dollars)

What do school fees cost per year?

Primary school: 3,600 Z dollars (15 US dollars) Secondary school: 24,000 Z dollars (100 US dollars)

The zeros disappeared In August 2006, three zeros were removed from the Zimbabwean dollar notes. Before that, a school dress cost 10.5 million Z dollars!

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My waterfall!

Jacqueline lives near Victoria Falls in western Zimbabwe.

“It’s so incredibly beautiful! I feel free here! ” shouts Jacqueline as she looks out over the thundering waters.

During the rainy season more than 500 million litres of water gush over the edge of the falls every minute! Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. It is 1.7 km wide and 108 metres high. It’s double the height and width of Niagara Falls in North America.

The only waterfall that comes close in size is Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

The Scottish explorer David Livingstone named the waterfall Victoria Falls in 1885, after Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

But of course, the waterfall already had another name before he got there: Mosioa-Tunya. It means the smoke that thunders.

‘The Big Five’ Hunters have a special name for lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and African buffalos: ‘The Big Five’. They don’t call these animals the Big Five because they are the biggest, but rather because they are the hardest to hunt. That’s why giraffes and hippos are not included.

Hunters also believe that the finest hunting trophies come from the Big Five, like the ivory of elephant tusks.

Many elephants have been killed by poachers who wanted to get their hands on the valuable ivory. The elephant was in grave danger of becoming extinct and in 1989 all trade in ivory was made illegal all over the world in order to save the elephant.

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WHAT DO THE BOYS REALLY THINK?

We don’t want to be

MONSTERS! “If girls in Zimbabwe are to have a good life, we boys need to change,” says Chakanetsa, who washes the dishes every evening and lets his little sister rest.

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 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

“

oys often think they can show how strong they are by treating girls badly. They become monsters who rape and beat girls. But there are lots of us boys who don’t want to be monsters! I lead an organisation called Padare here in Chitungwiza. We have boys’ clubs, just like the Girl Child Network has girls’ clubs, and we meet once a week and talk about children’s rights. We often talk about how boys and girls are seen so differently here in Zimbabwe. Boys are thought to be strong and girls weak. But that’s completely wrong! Women and girls are much stronger than

us. Girls are brought up to clean, fetch water, cook, wash up and do the laundry.

They become like slaves.

During that time, boys are allowed to play, rest and be served by the girls. Later, when the girls become mums, it’s almost always them who take care of the children alone. They make sure that the children get enough food, have clean clothes and get to go to school.

The mothers wear themselves out because they love the children. That’s strength!

But it’s also unjust.”

Challenging the boys “I think that if girls in Zimbabwe are to have a

good life, we boys need to change. So that we understand that boys and girls have equal value, and that a real man dares to treat women well! At Padare, we believe that boys and girls are created equal, and that we should help each other.

That’s why we challenge all our members, fathers and neighbours to help out more at home. We say, ‘let your sister, mum or wife rest today – wash up or cook dinner’! I wash the dishes every evening so that my little sister Precious, 14, can rest. She washes up in the afternoons – we share the household chores.”

Cooperation with girls “The boys in Padare are friends with the girls in Girl Child Network. We meet up, boys and girls, once a month and talk about the situation for children in Zimbabwe, and about what we’d like to change. We often join the GCN on marches for girls’ rights. So even though we’re an organisation for boys, we fight together with the girls.

Betty – a star!

“For me, Betty Makoni is a star! She’s a warrior who fights for girls’ rights. She has inspired me so much and made me think about how girls should be treated.”

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Chakanetsa, 19 Lives: In Chitungwiza, outside Harare.

Loves: Being with friends.

Hates: When people don’t treat others as they’d like to be treated themselves.

Worst thing that’s happened to me: When everyone forgot my birthday last year!

Best thing that’s happened to me: Having a family that cares about me.

Looks up to: Betty Makoni.

She’s a star!

Wants to be: A lawyer and fight for children’s rights.

Dream: For boys and girls to have the same rights.

After all, when we fight for girls’ rights, we’re really fighting for human rights.

Zimbabwe – and the whole world – will be a better place the day that boys and girls respect each other!”  The Girl Child Network works hard trying to change the way boys treat girls. They have special courses about girls’ rights for boys and men. The GCN also works together with Padare, an organisation for boys, so that young boys and girls can meet and learn to understand each other better. Betty and Girl Child Network hope that this will help bring more equality to Zimbabwe in the future.

Christian saved by

Girl Child Network … … even though he’s a boy!

W

“

hen I was 6, my dad died of AIDS, and mum died when I was 11. My twin brother Christopher and I tried to get by as best we could. But we were young and I started to become very ill. My health got worse and worse. Eventually I went to the hospital and I found out there that I also had HIV. It felt so terribly unfair.

We knew that we needed help if I was to have any chance of surviving. But who could we ask?”

“I knew about Betty and the Girl Child Network since we live here in Chitungwiza. Although I knew that they really only

helped girls, I decided to go and see them. If there was one person I believed could help me it was Betty.”

Giving love “And I was right. The Girl Child Network took care of me straight away, even though I’m a boy! That night, I went home with blankets and food for my brother and me. Since then, GCN has helped me with everything. They pay for my school fees, uniforms, pens, books, soap and food. Now they’ve even promised to pay for my HIV medicine.

But the most important thing is that they give us safety and love. Someone

from GCN comes to our home twice a week and checks that we’re okay. Betty and the other women have become like mothers for me.

They comfort me when I’m worried and miss my own mum. They have saved my life!”

Equal rights “As a boy, I’m extra grateful that I get help from the Girl Child Network, since it’s the girls’ own organisation. And girls really need the GCN, because life is tougher for them than for us boys. It’s also much harder for them to be able to go to school. I think that’s completely wrong! How can you stop a child from going to school? I think boys and girls have the same value and should be treated equally. That’s why the GCN is so important.

They fight for girls in Zimbabwe to have a good life and the same opportunities as us boys.” 

Christian, 16

Lives: In Chitungwiza, outside Harare.

Loves: Fighting for children with HIV. Hates: Adults who abuse children.

Worst thing that’s happened to me: When I’m treated badly because I’m ill.

Best thing that’s happened to me: When Betty started to help me.

Looks up to: Betty Makoni!

We are worth the same! Wants to be: A doctor.

“I’m often ill, but my brother Dream: For all the HIV-positive is healthy. That makes me feel children in the world to have safe. When I’m not feeling well a good life. he helps me with everything.

He cooks food and keeps me company. Although it’s difficult to do I have learned to live with the illness, and I talk about it openly.

I do that so that all of us who have HIV/AIDS become more accepted. We are worth the same and have the same rights as everyone else!”

 TEXT: ANDRE AS LÖNN phOTO : pAUL BLOMGREN

“It’s a miracle that I’m still alive. If Betty hadn’t helped me I’m sure I would have been dead today,” says Christian, 16.

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L E J U RY P O U R L E P R I X D E S E N FA N T S D U M O N D E 2 0 0 7 E L J U R A D O D E L P R E M I O D E L O S N I Ñ O S D E L M U N D O 2 0 0 7 O J Ú R I D O P R Ê M I O C R I A N Ç A S D O M U N D O 2 0 0 7

the jury for the world’s children’s prize 2007

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Idalmin Santana

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Gabatshwane Gumede

AL OB D GL I E N FR

Railander Pablo Freitas de Souza

USA

SOUTH AFRICA

BRAZIL

The children of the jury that will decide who will be awarded the World’s Children’s Prize are experts on the Rights of the Child as a result of their own experiences. They have been child soldiers, slaves, streetchildren, refugees and fighters for children´s rights.

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Thai Thi Nga

AL OB N D L G IE FR

TO BE NAMED!

VIETNAM

AL OB D GL I E N FR S I E R R A

AL OB N D L G IE FR

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Thomas Opiyo UGANDA

Ofek Rafaeli ISRAEL

Isabel Mathe

LEONE

AL OB N D L E G I FR

AL OB N D Hassana L G IE Hameida Hafed FR

AL OB N D L G IE FR

TO BE NAMED!

Mary Smart

WESTERN SAHARA

MOZAMBIQUE

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Omar Bandak

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Sukumaya Magar

PALESTINE

NEPAL

AL OB N D Laury Cristina L E G I Hernandez Petano FR COLOMBIA

AL OB N D L G IE FR

Maïmouna Diouf

SENEGAL

They represent all the children of the world who have similar experiences.

the world’s children’s prize for the rights of the child 2007