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Mandera East MP launches program to sponsor weddings for 50 underprivileged youth

Mandera East MP Hussein Weitan.

By Issa Hussein | 04 Dec 2023

Mandera East MP Hussein Weitan has inaugurated a program aimed at fully sponsoring weddings for 50 youths from impoverished families in Mandera East Constituency.

Mandera East MP Hussein Weitan has inaugurated a program aimed at fully sponsoring weddings for 50 youths from impoverished families in Mandera East Constituency. The MP unveiled a committee led by Chairman Derow Maalim Gabow, which successfully interviewed over 60 youths from the five wards in Mandera East Constituency.

Chairman Derow Maalim stated that 25 applicants were successfully selected in interviews targeting five youths from each ward—Arabiya, Township, Qalaliyow, Libahiya, and Leboy. The chairman emphasized that the comprehensive sponsorship program includes facilitating dowries, purchasing household items, covering wedding ceremony costs, and providing capital for the newlywed couples.

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"We have tasked the successful male applicants to engage their parents in the identification of the bride-to-be before dowry and other activities were implemented," said Derow. He added that the couples would undergo HIV/AIDS screening before tying the knot in an Islamic Nikkah ceremony officiated by a Kadhi.

Due to the proximity of border towns in Ethiopia and Somalia, cases of HIV/AIDS have increased in Mandera County, making screening mandatory for the beneficiaries. The interview panel excluded youth in divorced status and those seeking polygamous marriage, prioritizing poor youth aiming for their first marriage.

The initiative to support 50 youths under the Marriage Fund program was a campaign pledge made by the MP. Abdirahman Arale, a 24-year-old from Libahiya ward, was among the 25 selected beneficiaries. Abdirahman expressed his excitement, stating, "It was a free and fair process, and I am extremely happy since my marriage plan proposed five years ago was shelved due to a lack of finance."

In his case, Abdirahman has already identified his bride, patiently waiting for a time when he will be able to finance the long-awaited wedding ceremony. Four years ago, an international NGO from the United Arab Emirates launched a similar program for youth in Malindi to disengage them from drugs and radicalisation.