{"id":153165,"date":"2025-02-18T10:28:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T08:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/?post_type=artikkelit&p=153165"},"modified":"2025-02-18T10:34:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T08:34:21","slug":"soureya-moussa-got-a-fresh-chance-to-pursue-her-dreams","status":"publish","type":"artikkelit","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/en\/latest-news\/articles\/soureya-moussa-got-a-fresh-chance-to-pursue-her-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Soureya Moussa got a fresh chance to pursue her dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Soureya Moussa got a fresh chance to pursue her dreams<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

When Soureya Moussa became pregnant as a teenager while still in school, she feared her dreams were slipping away. What happened next is not the usual story in the Central African Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text: Elisa Rimaila
Photos: Antti Yrj\u00f6nen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A FUEL-POWERED GENERATOR <\/strong>roars into life in a neighbour’s yard. The roar drowns out all other sounds, but Soureya Moussa<\/strong>, 20, doesn’t seem bothered by the sudden change in soundscape. She continues to stir white fufu, a porridge made from cassava flour, over a pot set over an open fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soureya shares her home, a small, one-room house, with four other people. The home is located in the western part of the Central African Republic, in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods of the city of Bouar. Soureya is also a member of the Muslim minority in her country, and prayer is an integral part of her mornings and evenings. Soureya does not go to the mosque near her home. Perhaps there is no time for that, as the young woman\u2019s days are filled with various responsibilities, such as going to school, learning to sew, and taking care of her own child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soureya tenderly combs the hair of her now 3-year-old daughter. She has not seen her family since she found out she was pregnant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really loved my father, and he loved me. Maybe that’s why he kicked me out of the house,\u201d the young woman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Soureya Moussa’s daily routine includes washing dishes, sweeping, and other household chores.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hassania Halim<\/strong> arrives home. Soureya calls her her big sister. It was Hassania who came to Soureya’s aid when the situation seemed hopeless. The woman opened her home to the girl who was abandoned by her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I took her in like my own sister. I’m really touched that she calls me big sister. Soureya is a calm and decent girl, and she hasn’t been a problem at all,” Hassania says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soureya’s story is common in the Central African Republic. Most girls who attend school drop out before the fourth grade. Only a small percentage of those who complete the first six grades of primary school continue on to secondary school and graduate from grades equivalent to upper secondary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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The market in Bouar, located in the western part of the Central African Republic, is bustling from morning to night. Everything you need – from meat to cassava flour, from teapots to sandals – can be found at small stalls.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Teenage pregnancy interrupts the education of too many girls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A common reason for dropping out of school is poverty, which forces children from families to work in the same fields as their parents. In addition, a large number of teenage girls become mothers for the first time at a very young age. According to the UN children’s agency Unicef, one in four girls in the Central African Republic is married before the age of 15. In addition to marriage, there are of course a huge number of girls who experience the same fate as Soureya: they become pregnant without the father of the child taking responsibility for what happened. The lives of these girls can suddenly become very difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My father got angry with me. He thought my schooling was over. He thought my life was over,” Soureya recalls the events of years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soureya tells her story in the video below.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Et ole hyv\u00e4ksynyt markkinoinnin ev\u00e4steit\u00e4 n\u00e4hd\u00e4ksesi videon.<\/p>