Child Marriage Prevention
Child Marriage in our Community
Child marriage has been illegal in Nepal for decades, yet the practice persists among families facing poverty and limited opportunities. Many of the children at Happy Kids Center come from migrant communities where early marriage remains deeply rooted.
At Happy Kids Center, we see how quickly childhood can disappear. Girls who spend their afternoons playing, learning, and dreaming about their futures can, almost overnight, be expected to leave school and become wives and mothers.
When we first began, girls in the community were often married at just 13 or 14 years old. Today, we are seeing meaningful progress. Many girls are now marrying later, on average around 16 to 17 years old, and a handful have remained in school until 18.
This progress matters, but our work is not done. Each additional year a girl stays in school expands her opportunities and strengthens her independence.
Here is how we have achieved this progress, and how we plan to continue:
Kanya String of Hope takes a holistic approach to combatting child marriage, recognizing the nuance of this deeply rooted cultural practice.
Income Generation Reduces Pressure for Early Marriage
In many families, daughters are married young because they are seen as a financial burden. As girls grow older, dowries often increase, creating additional pressure to arrange marriages early.
Through Kanya: Strings of Hope, girls earn income that helps support their households. This allows families to delay marriage and see their daughters as contributors rather than financial burdens. By easing this pressure, girls are able to remain in school and continue their education.
Keeping Girls in School
Education is one of the most effective ways to delay early marriage. However, when families face financial hardship, schooling is often seen as less important than immediate economic survival.
Participation in Kanya: Strings of Hope is connected to school attendance, encouraging girls to remain enrolled and engaged in their education. By staying in school longer, girls gain skills, confidence, and opportunities that help shape a different future.
Building Confidence and Expanding Possibilities
Beyond income and education, Kanya: Strings of Hope creates a safe and supportive environment where girls can grow together.
Through the program, girls develop confidence, independence, and a stronger sense of self. They begin to imagine futures beyond early marriage and see new possibilities for their lives. Over time, this shift in expectations helps influence families and communities as well.
Kanya: Strings of Hope was created for girls at the moment their futures are most uncertain, when childhood begins to give way to pressure, and the risk of early marriage becomes real.
Through the program, girls come together several times each week at Happy Kids Center to create handmade jewelry. What begins as a simple activity quickly becomes something more, a space for learning, friendship, confidence, and opportunity.
As the girls earn income from their work, they are able to contribute to their families and ease the financial pressures that often lead to early marriage. At the same time, participation in the program is linked to school attendance, helping ensure that girls remain in education during these critical years.
Together, these opportunities allow girls to stay in school longer, build independence, and begin to imagine futures beyond early marriage.
Keeping Girls in School, Delaying Early Marriage
Education is one of the most effective ways to prevent child marriage. When girls remain in school, they gain knowledge, confidence, and greater control over their futures.
Research consistently shows that education significantly reduces the likelihood of early marriage. Each additional year of secondary education can reduce a girl’s risk of marrying before 18. (World Bank)
Education also shifts expectations within families and communities. When girls remain in school, marriage is often delayed, and families begin to see new possibilities for their daughters beyond early marriage. (UNICEF)
Through education sponsorship, Happy Kids Center helps girls remain in school during the years when they are most vulnerable to leaving education and being married. By removing financial barriers and supporting continued learning, we help girls build the foundation for independence and expanded opportunities.
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Our organization truly believes that by working together, we can save more lives than ever before.
- Bhelukel, Bhaktapur
- +1 2152002783
- info.happykidscenter@gmail.com
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