Boys and Men Alliance Project

To esnure we leave no girl behind, a boys and mens’ alliance meeting was planned to take place at Mweemba School in January 2024 to coincide with the new school year.  However, schools have remained closed for an additional 6 weeks to 12^th February due to a nationwide cholera outbreak. Schools have now re-opened, but large gatherings will be delayed until the third week of the new term at the request of the Ministry of Education. While we wait to hold the next meeting in late February, we wanted to share some of the incredible impact and results these meetings have had on girls education and the community in Sinazongwe.

First of all, from May to December 2023, 241 girls returned to school which is a 69% increase on the enrollment rates of January 2023. We are expecting this number to increase with the new school year.     

The head teacher of Miyanda Primary School told us that "In a densely populated community with high levels of poverty and illiteracy, the school has faced a lot of challenges in maintaining the numbers of girls in school. A lot of children especially the girls between 15 -19 years were either missing school or dropping out of school due to various reasons including teen pregnancy, early marriage or cohabiting among teenagers which led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases and alcohol abuse and parents could do less or nothing about it.

Through the Boys and Men alliance workshops I’m glad that all these problems were brought to light and a lot of views and concerns came out, it was through the same workshop that the community leaders and the community at large addresses all these issues which has encouraged the men to promote girl child education and encourage the girls to stay in school. we have since seen a lot of change in the school including: we have recorded 20% increase in the number of girls attending and returning to school and Married women are returning to school freely and confident without fear of their husbands or stigma from the community. There is also an increased advocacy from the men having heard testimonies from the other men who educated their female children and wives and how it has changed the well-being of the family financially has encouraged men to support the girls return to school. In this year all the girls that wrote their grade seven examinations and qualified to grade eight have since returned to school. An in addition to that, from the time we had the men and boys’ alliance work shop the school has not recorded any cases of early marriage or teenage pregnancy".

And for Patience (not her real name) a 19 year old married mother who had dropped out of school when she fell pregnant has also benefited from the boys and mens alliance meeting. This is her story 

I fell pregnant while waiting for my grade seven examination results in 2021, I was 16 years old at the time. I was one of the girls that made it to grade eight but I could not go to school because of my pregnancy, I was scared my friends from school would laugh at me and I only wanted to stay home, so I got married and started my own home. I still wanted to go back to school but I didn’t know how I could do that. With a family to take care of I felt it was not necessary to return to school. I have a 2-year-old child.

My husband did not complete his education as well, he plays football in one of the community teams he was part of the men that attended the boys and men alliance workshop, in my community, with School Club Zambia “own your destine project”. My husband was encouraged by the testimonies of men who sent their wives to school and how it could help his family as well, when he came home he told me about it and encouraged me to register and promised to support me as I go back to school, perhaps acquire a school certificate. I was happy. He encouraged me to follow my family planning guide so that I don’t get pregnant along the way and disturb my education.

I returned to school with my husband’s support and was able to attend lessons in the afternoon while he took care of the child at home, I’m so happy to go back to school. My hope for the future is to attain a grade 12 school certificate and own a big shop and be able to save enough money for my education and for my children to be educated"

We are thrilled with these results and the proven impact this program has had within the community to changing attitudes to girls education, we hope you are too. Thank you to everyone that has so generously donated to this project and has helped us change lives here in rural Sinazongwe, we couldn't do it without you.