In addition to meetings in villages and schools with students, POEMA (Project for Opposing Early Marriages) includes awarness meetings with the parents of some students, identified by teachers and the local authority, as being at risk of early marriages and dropping out of school. These meetings are taking place in the recent weeks in two secondary schools, Lien Viet secondary school and Xin Man secondary school. There will be four meetings in total and twenty parents will participate in each. Furthermore, private interviews were organized for each parent, in which the teachers together with the parents discussed the potential risks that could lead to the children dropping out of school and the general economic situation of the family, so as to evaluate how to best assist them, for example which animals and seeds are most necessary to distribute.
The topics covered are similar to those proposed to the classes of the two schools and aim to raise parents' awareness of gender equality, the risks of consanguineous marriages and early marriages, to guarantee a peaceful future for their children.
At the end of the first meeting, the parents present decided to commit themselves to ensuring that their children attend school regularly, until the end of their school career. We hope that through this process the next parents involved will also be able to recognize the value of education for their children.