By:
AMDEC - ENGLISHRising from Lost Dreams: CF Mabunda's Journey to Freedom
Rising from Lost Dreams: CF Mabunda’s Journey to Freedom
C. F. Mabunda is a young woman full of dreams, born on March 19, 2009, in the district of Magude, Maputo province. She has always fought to achieve her ambitions, until her life took an unexpected turn. In the middle of the school year (2024), while attending 8th grade, C. was reported as having dropped out of school. Concerned about her absence, the school board, in collaboration with the community committee, decided to investigate. In conversations with her father and grandmother, the initial explanation was that the young woman was in a school for witchcraft. But this answer did not convince.
Determined to find out the truth, the members of the community committee and the school board continued their investigations until they finally learned that CF Mabunda was in the home in the Mawandla1 neighborhood. However, the situation was even more serious. It was discovered that C. had been taken to South Africa against her will, involved in a child union. The committee, with the support of AMDEC and the police authorities, did not give up and, after several efforts, managed to bring her back to Mozambique.
Back home, C. was taken to the Magude health center, where she underwent medical examinations in the one-stop shop. HIV/AIDS and pregnancy tests revealed the sad reality: both were positive. The young woman, still so young, saw her dreams almost crumble before her eyes.
But the support did not stop there. With the strength of the program to eradicate child unions, implemented by AMDEC , C. received the support she needed to get back on her feet. She is now continuing with treatment and, with courage, returned to school. Today, back in the 8th grade, C. is more determined than ever to make her dreams come true. She is an example that, even in the face of such devastating obstacles, the right support and the will to fight can transform lives.
CF Mabunda’s story is living proof of the strength and impact of community and institutional actions to combat early unions. With the project’s tireless support, she not only regained her freedom, but also her dignity and the right to dream again.
