On Saturday, 7th February 2026, the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) Ebonyi State Team, with support from the AFJN Cross River State Coordinator, held a Community Entry and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting at the palace of HRH Eze Oliva Eze in Ekawoke Autonomous Community, Ikwo LGA, Ebonyi State.

The meeting brought together 36 key community stakeholders, including traditional rulers, village heads, women and youth leaders, religious leaders, town union executives, and community development representatives. The engagement marked a major step toward building a strong community partnership to end child early and forced marriage and domestic servitude.

Speaking during the meeting, Rev. Sr. Blessing Mary Nwali, AFJN Ebonyi State Coordinator, emphasized that AFJN’s approach is not to abolish culture and tradition, but to work with communities to use their cultural values to challenge harmful norms and practices that place children and vulnerable families at risk.

In his response, HRH Eze Oliva Eze commended AFJN Nigeria for its commitment to protecting children and addressing domestic servitude. He reaffirmed the community’s readiness to deepen collaboration and requested expanded stakeholder training to ensure inclusion of all villages, religious leaders, youth and women leaders, and community security personnel.

A major highlight of the engagement was the community’s commitment to economic empowerment and skills development. The Traditional Ruler and community leadership announced the availability of land and equipment for the establishment of a community skills acquisition centre, envisioned as a training and referral hub for vulnerable children and families within and beyond Ebonyi State.

The engagement concluded with the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), committing the community to partner with AFJN Nigeria to end early marriage and domestic servitude, establish community monitoring systems, and promote sustainable livelihood opportunities for vulnerable children and families.

AFJN Nigeria remains committed to building community-owned solutions that protect children, empower women and girls, and transform harmful social norms across Nigeria.