Education Zambia Project #50836

Educate Girls in Zambia on Gender Equity

by chance4all

Project Report | Sep 28, 2021
Our Journey so far......

By The Team of Chance4all | Project Leader

Meeting with the Taula cup ambassadors

In March 2021 the "Educate Girls in Zambia on Gender Equity" project was launched successfully with a workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health reproduction. The workshop included presentations on sexuality, sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive methods as well as mental well-being, gender equity, gender based violence and menstrual hygiene. The workshop was well received by 25 girls and their mothers. As part of the workshop we introduced the ‘taula menstrual cup’ to the girls and solicitated the participation of 10 girls as our menstrual cup ambassadors. The project with the cup ambassadors has generated a lot of positive feedback. Reports from several formal and informal meetings with the group of cup ambassadors, has showed that 8 out of the selected 10 girls are regularly using the cup and are satisfied with the freedom and flexibility it afforded them. Chance4all is following up with the feedback of the outstanding 2 ambassadors.

The majority of cup ambassadors have expressed the wish to receive more guidelines about the proper use of the cup, which Chance4all will integrate in upcoming sessions. The ambassadors have done an excellent job in spreading the benefits of a menstrual cup with their peers, leading to an increased number of requests directed to Chance4all staff to run another workshop and include more cup ambassadors into the project. We have received positive and enquiring requests from some parents showing interest to be invited to the next workshop, as they have heard about the project from their children. The concept has therefore potentially initiated some discussions at home and raised awareness for the topic of sexual reproductive health, which is a long-term goal of the project.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases in Zambia had increased to an alarming level at the beginning of June 2021, resulting in the closure of schools from June 17th to August 23rd. Consequently, Chance4all had to put the sensitization project on hold and was not able to conduct a second workshop as initially planned. During these difficult times, Chance4all however stayed committed to continue to support gender equity by providing distance learning services not only to the female students but also to the community. Apart from regularly checking-in on the well-being of all students and their families, Chance4all students received homework packages in 5 subjects which provided them access for self-learning .

With the re-opening of school at the end of August mentoring meetings with the girls have re-started, and a second workshop is planned for November, where girls from other schools within the Bauleni community should participate. The insights from our reporting with the Cup Ambassadors as well as the feedback from the first workshop in April have provided us with a good baseline for this upcoming workshop.

Links:

https://www.chance4all.org/sensitizationproject

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May 30, 2021
Pilot Workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health

By The Team of Chance4all | Project Leader

Workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health

In March 2021 Chance4All launched a new project on GlobalGiving with a focus on Gender Equity and Girls' Education.

The objectives of the project are to address issues that trigger poor attendance in school and to address the issue of gender equity. Poor attendance has been exacerbated as a result of COVID- 19. The focus of the intervention will be to reduce the number of out of school girls in the long-term and we aim to address this through:

- school sessions and safe counselling groups. We will provide awareness and sensitize the students (including teenage boys) on the benefits of gender equity in education.

- school-based meetings held with boys and girls, together or separately depending on the topic, and in collaboration with the guidance of counselling professionals, the project shall address safeguarding issues such as gender equality, child protection & gender inclusion, and create awareness of sexual health education in the Bauleni Community.

- girls will be educated about their basic human rights, the benefits of not dropping out of school, equip them with tools to ensure their well-being and safety.

Pilot Workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health

In April 2021, the Pilot workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health was held at Space4all. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions we had to limit the numbers to 25 female students and their mothers. We were pleased to have the organization Talula Cup partner with us to make a presentation on Menstruation and Puberty, as well as introducing the menstrual cup. The workshop also included presentations on sexuality, sexually transmitted infections and contraceptive methods as well as mental well-being, gender equity and gender based violence.

10 girls were identified to volunteer to receive the menstrual cup and to report their views on the cups over the next 3 months. They will report on how they are dealing with the cup and maintain a record on the effect of the use of the menstrual cup on their absenteeism from school due to their monthly period. Through these “Cup Ambassadors”, we hope their learnings will be shared back to the community and can encourage their friends to also try out the cup.

With the funds raised we handed out a package of reusable pads and body soap to all girls. The outcome of this first workshop was very encouraging as the audience asked many questions and the feedback from the participants was very positive. We look forward to facilitating the next workshop.

In May, Chance4all conducted an anonymous survey with 76 girls from Grade 7 to 9 from Bauleni Special Needs Project to gather further data on how menstruation impacts their school attendance and what actions could be taken for them to not miss school. Although final conclusions cannot yet be made, the survey revealed some interesting findings: firstly, one quarter of the respondents claimed to have at least one sister of school going age who does NOT go to school. Secondly over half of the respondents claimed to miss at least one day of school per month because of their period. Thirdly, the survey has also shown that nearly 40% of the girls do not talk much or not talk at all to their mothers about their period, which supports our approach of inviting the mothers to our workshops on the topic. Finally, the survey revealed that there is a big curiosity towards the menstrual cup which fits very well with the approach of having cup ambassadors to disseminate information. We are optimistic that we’ll be able to increase the number of the ambassadors in the near future. Overall, the insights from this survey give us valuable information for further interventions and are a good baseline for the upcoming workshops.

Outlook

A follow-up sensitization workshop with a different group of girls from Bauleni Special Needs Project is planned for August/September 2021, as we continue to receive the feedback and reporting from the Cup Ambassadors .The findings will be used to inform our future project activities. We hope to start a conversation on the benefits of gender equity.

Workshop

Parents being talked to on gender equity

Talula cup presentation

Survey on Menstrual Hygiene Management

Sexual Reproductive Health

Links:

Gender Equity and Girls' Education.

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