Still Need Help?
The Answers to All Your Questions
Need help? Here are the answers to commonly asked questions about our Organization.
How about the Boy Child?
Our mandate is to empower the vulnerable girl child. However, through our other interventions, we do include the boys. For example, our school and community outreaches where teachers are trained and their capacity is strengthened to support the children, and boys have been reached. The school development projects that have been placed in the partner schools like toilets, teachers’ houses, kitchens, school libraries, and water sources have also included the boys.
In the past few years, we have supported over 34,583 children including boys. We have implemented these projects in child protection, and economic strengthening which have targeted all vulnerable children including boys.
What is the age range for the girls you support?
The girls we support are within the age range of 13 to 24 years old. The girls are supported right from senior one through to tertiary and vocational levels.
Can a girl be supported by another district that is not within our operation areas?
We support girls in partner schools within the same area for easy monitoring and effective and holistic services. Support to girls in different districts can be provided in instances where a girl has been offered a course in a tertiary institution that is in another district.
Do you also include children with disabilities?
Yes, our program targets all girls including those with disabilities.
Who is a vulnerable girl and how do you describe one?
A vulnerable girl is one who lives in abject poverty, is orphaned, abandoned, and is susceptible or at a greater risk of experiencing physical or emotional harm like exploitation, defilement, or other forms of abuse.
What is your selection criteria?
Ans. We openly advertise in the community churches, markets, and schools about the selection of new students. The criteria focus is on vulnerable girls that have been left in abject poverty and have been affected by HIV/AIDS, girls that have been abandoned by their guardians and have been left to child-headed households as well as child mothers.
After the advertising, we receive applications at all our field offices after which a rigorous process of interviews, home assessments as well as community inquiries to establish the deserving beneficiaries are selected.
We consider the proximity of the home to the school so as to ensure that the child is able to walk to and from school safely. We consider the performance at the Primary Leaving Examinations level to ensure that the girls selected are well deserving of the opportunity for a secondary school education or not.
Can a girl who is past senior one and is vulnerable join the program?
Yes, it is possible. Especially when there are girls dropping off the secondary school program for one reason or another. Then we can make a replacement if they are well-deserving.
Do you take pregnant girls back to school?
Yes, we do. The girls are given an opportunity to decide what the next course of action is after childbirth, based on the circumstances they are experiencing at that particular moment. Whilst we are cognisant of the danger in portraying a wrong message to the younger girls about teenage pregnancy, we encourage the rest of the girls to focus on their studies and avoid teenage pregnancy.
Why aren’t you open to all schools?
We are only open to partner schools within our target areas for easy monitoring and reinforcement of the different life skills and values we impart to the girls and duty-bearers. Our approach is a holistic one, where we target the entire ecosystem of the girl child, that is the home, the school, and the community. The three environments are interconnected and can join forces to ensure the welfare and safety of the girl in order for her to thrive and attain her utmost potential.