By: Ignatia Dyahapsari (WWF-Indonesia)

"His son, sir?"
"No, this is my grandson."

That was a piece of our brief conversation with a fisherman from Labengki Village, Labengki Kecil Island, Lasolo Islands District, North Konawe Regency. We, who stopped by his house to buy donuts, were instead surprised by a little girl who turned out to be the granddaughter of this fisherman who was not yet middle-aged.

That afternoon, Nisa (WWF-Indonesia) and I sat on the terrace of the house of Mr. Kaur Pemerintahan Desa Labengki, Lasolo Islands District, North Konawe Regency.

His wife, a former junior high school teacher in Labengki, told us about early marriage, a phenomenon that occurs on this small island. She expressed her concern that children in Labengki are getting married at a very young age.

Many girls in this village get married right after school. Or even, they drop out of school to get married. They vary in age when they get married. The youngest are at the age of 12 or 13, or usually when they are still in junior high school.

There are 114 families with 456 residents who live in two hamlets in Labengki Village, Labengki Kecil Island. Educational facilities are still very limited, there is only 1 elementary school and 1 junior high school. Labengki children must leave the island to continue their education to the high school level.

However, the highlight for Ms. Kaur is how education is still seen as a place to learn to read and count only. If you can already read and count, most no longer focus too much on learning, or even drop out of school.

Some of Ms. Kaur's students got married in the first grade of junior high school. "In fact, she got married before me," she said. She said that her neighbor at the age of 13 already had two children. "There are also those who are 17 years old who already have five children," she said.

"Sometimes the Posyandu people who come are confused because they don't know whether the baby is the brother or the mother," she continued.

Getting pregnant at a young age causes problems during the birth process. Some girls from the island have been rushed to Lasolo for cesarean sections.

Their small bodies made the birth process difficult. So, they have to travel approximately one hour across the island to get to the nearest hospital using a small boat.

"Nowadays, more and more children are marrying young. If not approved, some are desperate to elope," she told us. The impact of marriage at a young age is that many leave school.

However, thankfully, there are children who still want to go to school despite being pregnant. Although sad, in my heart I appreciate the desire of some children to continue their education despite the challenges. A very positive thing, considering that many other children drop out of school.