The Girl Power Project
The Adolescent Girls Power Program is aimed at empowering adolescent girls to transform and change the structures that deny them choices and power. It works to shift power, build relationships of trust with implementing partners and empower girls with practical and soft skills. It started in 2019 with a 6 month planning and learning grant phase that involved listening to girls and creating partner clusters. A lot of progress and learning has been registered at individual level in the lives of girls who have participated and in the work of partners that spearhead. The Girl power program uses safe space approach where girls meet in a set up of their own to discuss issues affecting them. 20 safe spaces have been set up impacting over 583 girls in Luwero and Nakaseke. The project is being implemented by Luwero cluster involving Concern for the Girl child, TEAM Uganda, Nakaseke community Child Care and Just like my child.
Year:
2019 to Date
Category:
Child Protection
Goal:
Adolescent girls become self- reliant and have the confidence to speak out and take actions for themselves.
Description:
Funded by the Child Rights and Violence Prevention fund, the project was implemented in a consortium of 4 grass root organisations in Luwero and Nakaseke districts. These including; CGC, Just Like My Child Foundation, TEAM Uganda and Nakaseke Community Child Care.
Rationale:
The major issue surrounding girls is gender-based violence, and many don’t have a voice to air out issues affecting them. Through safe spaces many girls in Luweero have come together to fight against GBV acts against their fellow girls. In these safe spaces, girls are equipped with hands-on skills, such as tailoring, hair-dressing, and also equipped with information on sexual reproductive health. The girl power project aims at giving girls power and space so that their voices are heard. A Safe Space is a place where girls can met learn and discuss issues affecting them, come up with possible solutions and engage leaders in their communities to assist in enforcing these solutions.
The target of this project:
Girls Aged 10 to 24, in and out of school girls and Child mothers. Girls have been empowered through creation of safe spaces where girls meet and chat about their future. There are 20 safe spaces with an average of 30 girls each.
Achievements:
583 girls have been impacted by the project. Fore instance, Girls in Kamira and Kinyogoga participated in celebrating Menstrual Hygiene Day by engaging in talks on menstrual hygiene, sexual and reproductive health, engaging boys on the same, sewing reusable pads and distributing 352 reusable pads all of which made by girls from the safe spaces.
Girl led dialogue was conducted. One was conducted in Kinyogoga targeting local leaders, medical personnel, security officers and VHTs and some of the key issues raised was the lack of clean and safe water points which puts all especially girls at risk as they search for water. They wondered when the issue of forced marriages would ever end as they have little hopes given the current trend. Girls also have engaged in sports and had inter safe space competitions in football, net ball, drama, athletics etc
