In a classroom in Tarime, a 13-year-old girl raises her hand. A year ago, she would have stayed silent, taught that her body, her schooling, and her future were decisions for others to make. Today, she knows her rights and is not afraid to claim them. That raised hand in the air is what your support makes possible.
Across Tanzania, the odds are still stacked against girls like her. Tanzania has a national child marriage prevalence of 29%, one of the highest in East Africa, and 22% of girls are pregnant by age 18, leading them to drop out of school. Behind each of those numbers is a childhood interrupted, a girl pulled from her desk, a voice told to go quiet.
Children’s Dignity Forum exists to change that story. Since 2006, working out of Dar es Salaam, Tarime, and Mpwapwa, CDF has stood with the country’s most vulnerable children and young women to end female genital mutilation, child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and gender-based violence. We don’t speak for children; we make sure children can speak for themselves, and we build the systems that listen when they do.
And it works. CDF has established 117 school and community clubs where children learn their rights and confidently report abuse to authorities. We have trained police officers, magistrates, prosecutors, and social welfare officers so that a girl who reports violence meets justice instead of silence. We constructed and equipped six dedicated police gender and children’s desks across Manyara and Kigoma, so survivors are heard in confidence and with dignity. And through our TuWezeshe Akina Dada fellowship, we raised 30 young women leaders, over half of whom have gone on to found their own organizations or take up positions in government, carrying the change forward into communities we will never have to reach ourselves.
That is the heart of this work, change that multiplies. As one voice in this movement put it, when girls are educated, healthy, and free, they transform their communities and pass the benefit on to their own children, and to their children’s children.
CDF is a registered, trusted Tanzanian organization, working hand in hand with government, schools, faith leaders, and families, chosen by partners who describe our team as honest, dependable, and a truly valuable asset to child protection work.
Every child’s voice matters. With your support, more of them will be heard.
U.S.-based donors can make tax-deductible contributions to the US Friends of the CDF at Myriad USA. Because Myriad USA is a public charity, within the meaning of Sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the IRC, donors may claim the maximum tax benefits allowed by U.S. tax law for their contributions. If you wish to support us, here is how to proceed: