By Heran Abebe | Senior Gender Advisor
Educating and Empowering Girls in Ethiopia
GlobalGiving Report
December 2014 – February 2015
BACKGROUND
Since May 2008, Global Giving Donors have generously supported Pathfinder International to empower the most vulnerable women and girls in Ethiopia. The support aims to reduce the number of girls dropping out from school due to financial constraints and to equip them with life and leaderships skills. So far, Pathfinder has recruited 104 female students from very poor families: 77 from Addis Ababa and 27 from Amhara region have received the grant.
UPDATE
The generous support from GlobalGiving donors has helped our female students by providing 150 birr per month (US $7) to cover basic costs for school. Considering the importance of books for their education, we were able to purchase 20 books that were needed by the girls to prepare for their national exit exam.
During this reporting period, in addition to the purchase of books, 19 beneficiaries at Dera District Ambesamie have taken the initiative to form an association of their own. The main aim of the association is to share thoughts and find possible solutions regarding various difficulties they encounter as female students. The girls meet every month to discuss their problems such as how to deal with and overcome peer-pressure, how to study effectively, and difficulties related with teaching and learning. The sharing of lived experiences has enormous influence on the girls, as they all have similar socioeconomic backgrounds, are of similar age, and often face similar problems. The discussions are contributing significantly to advance their education, as social problems such as peer-pressure can have devastating consequences on learning outcomes.
Along with the monthly meetings, the girls created a study group which meets twice a week (Monday and Wednesday). The aim is to discuss the challenges in subjects such as mathematics and physics and to address questions and concerns members of the group may have during after-school sessions. This has enabled the girls to develop group work skills and at the same time helped them achieve their academic goal.
A gender and sexual and reproductive health one-day training was provided to 25 female students who are program beneficiaries in Addis Ababa. The training was informative as well as interactive with engaging debates and shared experiences.
MONITORING
The updates of all the beneficiary girls are gathered periodically by Amhara IFHP as well as at the country office level. Accordingly, the progress of the girls in their school is well documented. In monitoring the progress, we work very closely with school administrators, parents and concerned stockholders. This helps us to acquire valid information, solve problems, and facilitate the girls’ educational achievement.
THE WAY FORWARD
In the coming months, we plan to work closely with the beneficiaries, their parents, school administrators, and teachers. We plan to organize discussion and awareness creation trainings.
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