Gender Equality Zambia Project #48405

End Period Poverty for 400 Girls in Kafue, Zambia

by African Education Program

Project Report | Sep 17, 2026
From Participants to Leaders: Girls Reaching Girls

By Pamela O'Brien | Acting Executive Director

High School Students Become Peer Educators

Girls Reaching Girls: The Power of Peer Education

At the African Education Program, we believe young people are not simply beneficiaries of change, they can be among its most effective leaders.

Our flagship Learning & Leadership Center, the Amos Youth Centre (AYC), recently released its 2025 Impact Report, offering a powerful look at what locally led, youth-driven change can accomplish in Kafue, Zambia. Throughout the year, AYC empowered more than 8,000 children, youth, women, and community members through education, health, leadership, and livelihood programs.

One of the report’s most encouraging findings is the growing role girls and young women are playing in reaching their peers.

Since 2023, AYC has trained 200 peer educators, including 128 young women. In 2025 alone, 198 active peer educators reached 3,913 young people in schools and communities with information and support related to reproductive health, gender equity, drug abuse prevention, positive decision-making, and leadership development.

Girls represented more than half of those reached: 2,178 girls received information and support from peer educators during the year.

Peer education is especially powerful because young people often feel more comfortable discussing sensitive subjects with someone close to their own age. A trained peer can create a safe space for honest questions, challenge harmful misconceptions, and connect another young person with additional services when needed. At the same time, peer educators strengthen their own confidence, communication skills, and leadership abilities.

AYC also paired reproductive health education with practical menstrual support. In 2025, the local team produced 2,400 reusable menstrual pads and distributed packs of six pads to 206 girls. Access to reliable menstrual products helps girls manage their periods safely and confidently while reducing one of the barriers that can prevent them from attending school.

These results demonstrate the ripple effect of investing in girls. When a girl receives accurate information, she can make more informed decisions. When she is equipped as a peer educator, she can share that knowledge with dozens of others. And when girls are trusted to lead, their influence can extend across schools, families, and entire communities.

Thank you for helping girls in Zambia become informed, confident leaders who are creating change for themselves and their peers.

With gratitude,

Pamela O'Brien

Acting Executive Director

Girls Receive Menstrual Products

Reusable Menstrual Pads Now Made at AYC

Links:

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May 11, 2026
Getting Creative in Support of our Girls

By Pamela O'Brien | Acting Executive Director

Inclusive lessons are provided in sign language.

At the African Education Program, we believe every girl deserves the opportunity to stay in school, pursue her dreams, and shape her future. That is why, even after reaching more than 6,000 youth in 2025 through our Peer Education Program in local schools across Kafue, Zambia, we are taking a hard look at a trend that deeply concerns us.

This year, the pregnancy rate among girls attending our flagship Learning & Leadership Center in Kafue, Zambia, increased slightly to 2.6%.

Compared to Zambia’s national average where 28% of girls become pregnant before the age of 18, this number may seem small. But for us, even one girl stepping away from her education because of pregnancy is one too many. Too often, teenage pregnancy leads to girls leaving school, losing opportunities, and facing cycles of poverty that are difficult to escape.

Our local team is responding with urgency and compassion. Staff are holding strategy meetings, interviewing girls directly, and listening carefully to understand what additional support is needed. Whether that means more one-on-one check-ins, deeper mentorship, increased touchpoints, or engaging more boys and young men in these conversations, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to better support the young people we serve.

Real change happens when communities are willing to listen, adapt, and keep showing up, and that is exactly what our team in Kafue is doing every day.

How can you get involved? Funding for locally-led community organizations is more competitive than ever before. We have to be more creative in our asks and expand our donor network. You can share this email, our website, or order a book dedicated to our youth-led education, health, and leadership programs in Kafue, Zambia. We recently created a coffee-table style children's book, Jiya and the Wisdom of Elephants, in partnership with local Wayne, PA author and illustrator Dorothy Potash, featuring the story of a young elephant raised by her mother, her grandmother, and her community, growing into a leader through shared wisdom and care. We hope you check it out and order a copy for Mother's Day too.

With much gratitude,

Pamela O'Brien

Lessons are extended to boys and young men too.

Peer outreach continues in local schools.

Links:

African Education Program

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Jan 3, 2026
Holistic Program Model Helps End Period Poverty

By Pamela O'Brien | Development Director

In 2025, the African Education Program (AEP) reaffirmed what its community-led, holistic model has demonstrated for years: true transformation comes when education, health, leadership, and inclusion are integrated into young people’s lives. One striking example of this impact is the organization’s ongoing effort to end period poverty and expand menstrual health access for girls across Kafue, Zambia.

As highlighted in AEP’s Top Ten Countdown of 2025, one of the year’s pivotal achievements was the expanded distribution of reusable menstrual pads to eight local schools, reaching over 2,400 pads along with practical menstrual health education for girls and their mothers. This initiative ensured that no girl’s education is interrupted simply because of her period — restoring dignity, confidence, and equality.

This work fits into AEP’s Reproductive Health Access Initiative (RHAI), a key pillar of its holistic program model. Rather than treating menstrual health as a stand-alone issue, AEP embeds it within broader goals of education, health empowerment, gender equity, and community leadership. By bringing menstrual health training, reusable products (like pads, cups, and period underwear), and peer-led education into their flagship Learning & Leadership Center and surrounding communities, AEP tackles period poverty at its roots — social stigma, lack of access, and barriers to education.

AEP’s approach is not just about supplying products. It’s about creating agency: girls choose the menstrual health solutions that work best for them; families and community leaders engage in dialogue to shift norms; and both boys and girls participate in reproductive health education that builds respect, equity, and understanding.

The results speak for themselves: ensuring uninterrupted learning, boosting girls’ confidence, and lifting systemic barriers that once held young women back. In this way, AEP’s holistic model helps end period poverty not as a siloed intervention, but as an essential thread woven through broader efforts to empower youth, strengthen communities, and unlock long-term opportunity in Zambia.

Here's to an incredible 2026! Thanks for joining us on our journey.

Links:

Medium Blog: Top Ten Countdown of AEP's 2025

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