We've done it!

Michelle Chaplin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:14:31 GMT

Thanks to your generous support, all 20 of the safe space centers for girls are now open, and 500 girls are benefiting from weekly meetings where they can interact and discuss issues with other girls and get advice from trained mentors on topics that they may feel uncomfortable discussing, such as pregnancy, menstruation and early marriage. Girls are also encouraged to stay in school and are offered training courses in managing their finances so that they can take out microfinance loans.

As the program has had such initial success in Uganda, we've begun to pilot the same program for teenage girls in Tanzania. Please check out the Safe Spaces & Loans project for girls in Tanzania and continue to show your support!

Update of BRAC's Program for Adolescent Girls in Uganda

Michelle Chaplin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:01:28 GMT

Ugandan Girls Show Susan and Arif how to dance

Thank you all for your support of BRAC’s program to provide safe spaces and loans to teenage girls in Uganda. Your investment in the girl effect will make a difference in the lives of adolescent girls in Uganda. Here’s an update of our progress so far:

• We’ve surveyed and held discussions with teenage girls and their mothers to select the best meeting times, activities and training programs for the girls. BRAC staff members will continue to hold meetings with mothers to stay informed about the girls’ progress in school and at home. • We’ve developed training materials and trained 20 adolescent club mentors, who will each oversee a club of 25 girls. All of the mentors are female. • We’ve opened 20 adolescent clubs where girls can safely gather and discuss issues that are important to them with each other and with their mentors • Financial and livelihood training programs will begin in October, after which the girls will be able to take out small loans to start their own businesses. • BRAC USA CEO and President Susan Davis recently travelled to BRAC’s programs in Uganda and met with some of the girls in one of BRAC’s adolescent girls clubs. In the attached photo, the girls show Susan and Uganda Country Manager Arif Islam a traditional dance. Unfortunately, they couldn’t convince them to join in!

A team of students at the Stern School of Business at NYU are doing a study on donors views of BRAC’s programs. As some of the first supporters of BRAC USA and BRAC's initiative to support the lives and livelihoods of girls in Uganda, we value your opinion of how BRAC is doing and appreciate your help in answering questions in the following survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BNGP9LTVRT_2fglSTgKi5lTQ_3d_3d.

If you provide your name and contact information, we’ll add you to the list of invitees for an upcoming conference call with BRAC founder Dr. F.H. Abed that will take place in December.

Best wishes,

Michelle

Michelle Chaplin Program Manager BRAC USA 11 East 44th St., Suite 1600 New York, NY 10017 Tel: 212-808-5615 Fax: 212-808-0203 Email: michelle@bracusa.org Website: www.brac.net/usa BRAC Blog: blog4brac.blogspot.com You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/bracusa1

An Adolescent Club Mentor (right) leads a discussion

Links:

GlobalGiving.org: BRAC Safe Spaces & Loans for Teenage Ugandan Girls

We've done it!

Update of BRAC's Program for Adolescent Girls in Uganda