Empowering girls through education and leadership

Program Title- Growing Girl leaders from every soil

Foreword

For a number of years, women in developing countries have continuously been victims of different forms of injustices. Violence, neglect, among other inequalities, have always hindered the growth of women and young girls across the world. Amidst such a hostile environment, Woman’s Hope Foundation was created with the sole purpose of addressing and eliminating these injustices.  

Ten years after being created, the foundation continues to empower women through its diversified programs. The focus of Woman’s hope is to ensure the financial, physical and social well being of women and girls from vulnerable communities. The organization has designed programs that seek to identify and help provide the core needs of deprived women and their families.

One key project the foundation undertakes is known as The Season for girl’s project.

This is a program that envisions an environment where vulnerable girls from urban slums can be able to pursue their dreams without fear of discrimination or other forms of obstacles. Part of the success of this project has been in its design. Advised by Girl caucuses within Woman’s Hope Projects, the program is tailored and implemented with their individual needs in consideration. Today, the program has impacted over 300 girls. Our work has diversified to include campaigns and education projects that have benefited adolescent girls especially those living in urban slums.

This report provides an update of the season for girl’s Project for 2019

Consolata Waithaka

Executive Director,

Woman’s Hope

 PROGRAM UPDATE

The season for girl’s project has grown tremendously over the years.  

Our Quest is to create a new reality for marginalized girls in which they have access to education, faceless barriers to complete school and identify their inherent ability to change the world.

The Need

Adolescent girls living in urban slums lack access to many core community resources and more so, safe places to meet with friends.

They also face high rates of gender-based violence and are at greater risk of premature sex that can lead to unwanted pregnancies and HIV infection.

Worrying statistics show that Pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death and illness among adolescent girls.

Adolescent girls in such communities are prone to making wrong and uninformed decisions due to low self-esteem, economic dependency, lack of mentors and poor social setups. These insecurities make them easy targets for exploitation by malicious sexual predators.

OUR SOLUTION

Empowering women starts right in our families, workplaces, and neighbourhoods.

This Quarter we reached out to over 200 Girls schooling and offered them mentorship and leadership training during School holiday season. During this time, they were engaged through various essential activities such as cooking, Baking and Craftmanship.

 Our main goal is to raise young people with the strength of character known to lead to successful adulthood.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND REACH

Our uptake for the previous quarter was up to 200 girls. The attendees primarily comprised of young girls from slum areas near the Foundation’s retreat centre. The program also registered a significant number of teenage mums who undertook specialized programs to enable them to raise their families with ease.

Our season for girl’s leadership camp this August hosted 200 in partnership with Kenya scouts and girl guides among topic discussed at the camp included, life skills, career development with a focus on STEM subjects, personal development and goal setting; Sexual reproductive health. Through the Pass it on exercise, our program has reached over 100 more girls.

Upon completion of the training, the participants were awarded certificates of participation to serve as a medal of achievement and reminder to always be the champions of change in their community.

 Conclusion

A healthy society is the responsibility of everyone in the community. For us to achieve this, we need to empower and offer opportunities to adolescent girls so that they can flourish as they should. A good economy is backed by equity across the board. The less fortunate also deserve a helping hand in order for them to create a better tomorrow for their future generation.

The trainees under this program undertook focused group discussions where they had a chance to share their experiences, build a safety net of trusted relationships and socialize without restrictions. 

The training offered at the meetings included sessions on topics ranging from puberty and family planning to drug abuse, peer pressure and gender-based violence. Through the financial education component, girls gained personal money management skills, learned about budgeting and saving, and explored options for earning money in formal and informal economies.

Once again, we would like to thank and appreciate our teams of passionate change-makers who have continually strived to work with the girls to impact their lives. The passion of the season for girl’s implementation team, mentor partners and affiliate Organization has been at the core of our success. Most notable is the wonderful community of donors who have supported this project through the Global Giving platform. 

ACTIVITY REPORT SEASON FOR GIRLS PROGRAM

Program Title- Growing Girl leaders from every soil

Forward

Woman’s Hope first came into existence at time of great need, when developing countries including Kenya were rocked by a wave of injustices against women and girls. Celebrating ten years of prosperity for and by women, our work has diversified to include campaign and education projects that have benefited adolescent girls especially those living in urban slums.

Our work has called upon us to think strategically and design programs and engagements that address the core needs of women and their families. One of the ambitious projects, the Season for girl’s project is our promise of a world where vulnerable girls from urban slums can begin to live their full potential. Part of the success of this project has been in its design. Advised by Girl caucuses within Woman’s Hope Projects, the program is designed and implemented with their individual needs in consideration. Today, the program has reached directly and indirectly 300 girls.

This report provides a snapshot of the season for girl’s project.

Consolata Waithaka

Executive Director,

Woman’s Hope 

Program background

When we started the season for girl’s project we did not know what was possible. We believed that adolescent girls facing poverty should be in charge of their own development, within girl caucus, we began the season for girls mentoring clubs, where we would link girls to mentors, Through the mentoring program, we began to learn of the unseen needs that our girls were going through issues of education, safety and economic challenges began to emerge. Through this learning and consultations, the season for girls is now a holistic experience providing education, mentoring and leadership development opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized girls.

The Problem

Education is not freely available to everyone and in many parts of Kenya today, girls are the first to be excluded from it. Girls are the first to drop out of school, facing the perils of early marriage, early pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.

With access to education girls can do amazing things: launch businesses, become health workers, run schools, and lead governments, making the world a better place for everyone .An educated girl is still the exception, not the norm, in too many places. This perpetuates gender inequality and global poverty with 63million girls out of secondary school worldwide—with 60% residing in sub-Saharan Africa 

Our solution

We believe that in order to achieve gender equality, girls—must have the tools and skills to become changemakers. Through The Season for girls program, every student, regardless of where she is from, receives the schooling, mentorship, and leadership training she needs to have power over her life outcomes, as well as to fight the injustices around her.

The season for girls program is a holistic approach that provides Scholarships to bright but needy girls, once the girls are in school, we partners with her teachers and mentors to provide the encouragement and resilience to complete school: and develop her leadership qualities. This three step approach ignites every girl’s inherent ability to empower herself, her family and her community 

Project Activities and reach

This quarter, we have been able to reach 150 girls. Our scholars program has provide full scholarship to secondary school to 3 bright girls.

Our season for girl’s leadership camp this April hosted 35 girls in partnership with Kenya scouts and girl guides among topic discussed at the camp included, life skills, career development with a focus on STEM subjects , personal development and goal setting; Sexual reproductive health . Through the Pass it on exercise, our girls have reach 120 more girls.

This quarter we have engage mentors through the season for girl’s ambassador program, which connect, convenes and catalyzes mentors from corporate Kenya to provide mentorship session to the girls in our program. We hosted our first season for girl’s ambassador forum that reached 10 mentors who are already engaging girls.

Conclusion

To date, the program has reached 300 girls through training and direct employment .We have witnessed a 90% increase in self-confidence and employment retention rate in participants.

Our teams of passionate change makers have continually strived to work with the girls to achieve the most. The passion of the season for girl’s implementation team, mentor partners and affiliate Organization has been at the core of our success. Most notable is the wonderful community of donors who have supported this project through the GlobalGiving platform.