Gender Equality Uganda Project #11975

Teen Girls Health & Empowerment in Uganda

by The Shanti Uganda Society

Project Report | May 8, 2017
A Successful First Three Day Workshop

By Rachel Simmet | Communications Coordinator

Last week Shanti Uganda successfully piloted our first three day teen girls’ workshops, modifying it from our previous five day workshop. The change in program means we can host more workshops in a given year, and therefore reach more girls. This month’s workshop was attended by 31 girls aged 12-17. They discussed topics of puberty, menstruation, the ABCs of safe sex, HIV and STIs, how to form healthy relationships with the opposite sex, the importance of maintaining proper nutrition and other valuable life skills.

The biggest success of this first session was the ability of the girls to describe their new familiarity with puberty and menstruation. It isn't uncommon for teens in this area to drop out of school at the time of menstruation due to a lack of knowledge about what is happening to their bodies and how to manage their symptoms. In this class, taught by local facilitators, menstruation talk was normalized. The participants learned what to expect during menstruation and were given information on how to maintain personal hygiene, manage pain and how to clean and use re-usable sanitary pads so they can continue to attend school.

In planning for future workshops we hope to modify the curriculum even further to make sure the girls are learning as much as possible in the new three day time period. We also hope to use the feedback from this workshop to better tailor our program to what teen girls need to learn, and use any suggestions they had in terms of what they want to get out of the program. Our local facilitators want to ensure the curriculum is as culturally appropriate and comprehensive as possible, taking into account the variety of ages we invite to attend.

We see a need to further encourage the girls to think outside of the box in terms of equality and healthy relationships, as well as encouraging safe sex. The Luwero district, where we work in Uganda, is especially challenged by the high rate of teen pregnancy. Our hope is that through this program we can address a number of the factors that go into the high teen pregnancy rates here, and untimely reduce these statistics.

We plan to host 11 more workshops throughout the year, with the overall goal of reaching 30 girls each workshop. Since sex education is not taught in Ugandan schools, Shanti welcomes these girls back to our facility any time they need to ask questions regarding anything discussed during their time here. The relationships the built with the facilitators, our midwives, and each other we’ll ensure they have a network of support as they move forward in their teen years.

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Feb 7, 2017
Arming Teen Girls with Knowledge and Empowerment

By Teen Girls Program Coordinator | Teen Girls Program Coordinator

Smiles for miles at 2016 Teen Girls workshop

Shanti’s Teen Girls Workshops: Arming Young Women with Knowledge through Empowerment

As the success of the Women’s March on Sunday permeates through women's causes around the world, we at Shanti find renewed purpose in running our Teen Girls Workshop.

As the government announced it “discourages the teaching of sexual education in schools saying that there are other more appropriate avenues for teaching children about matters of sex and sexuality.” The Ministry of Gender released a statement that it will ban sexuality education at schools because it would conflict cultural values.

Young people in Uganda have and continue to show their clear disapproval of this announcement. At the Intergenerational Dialogue (IGD) on sexual health in Kampala in November, 3,000 youths expressed their discontent. The IGD was organized by Rutgers’ partner Reaching A Hand Uganda (RAHU), a youth-led organization that aims to improve the sexual health and rights of young people.

This makes the topics covered in the weeklong workshop co-run by Shanti’s Nutritionist Rita even more invaluable to the girls being educated. Some of these topics include nutrition, healthy living, hygiene, healthy relationships, STI and HIV education, rape, safe sex, and reproduction. Of particular relevance and vital importance to the girls is safe sex and available contraceptive methods.

Early marriage is the leading cause of teenage pregnancy in Uganda with over 90 percent of the teenage pregnancies being among girls who are married before the age of 18, according to the Guttmacher Institute report. Almost half of Ugandan girls are married by the age of 18 and according to the 2011 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS), 24 percent of female teenagers are either pregnant or have given birth already.

In Shanti’s effort and intention to empower the young women of Uganda, we believe in starting with a base of knowledge. As minister of Health for General Duties, Sarah Opendi says “We can’t afford to pretend and shy away. There is already a big problem. Rather than to blame us on moral grounds, people should come out and support [their sisters, daughters, mothers, and fellow Ugandans]. We can’t continue with the worrying teenage pregnancy rates, among the highest in the world.”

Shanti’s Teen Girls Workshop aims to arm young without with the knowledge to make safe choices and create opportunities for themselves.

Yoga class in Shanti's back yard

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Oct 27, 2016
Shanti and WoMena Teen Girl follow up

By Leah May | Communications Intern

WoMena workshop

Shanti Uganda and Ugandan NGO WoMena have been partnering together to educate and empower girls and woman on reproductive and sexual health. In August, WoMena came for one day to talk about reproductive health to our Teen Girls, and to introduce the girls to the Ruby Cup, a reuseable menstrual cup. Many of the girls face challenges in buying sanitary pads, iwhich often leads to them being unable to attend school during their periods each month. The Ruby Cup offers a safe and affordable alternative.

As an additional part of the training, WoMena and Shanti had a follow up session with the girls, who attended the five day workshop and received a Ruby Cup. Last week this follow up session took place at Shanti on October 6th, 2016.

During this visit, the girls were given a survey to complete that referenced the sexual health education they were taught about during the original session, with the goal of discovering what information the girls retained from the original workshop. Additionally, they girls were invited to give feedback on the Ruby Cup Company.

The results from the survey showed that the girls learned a lot about menstruation and reproductive health and many of the girls feel more confident talking about menstruation and can now openly ask questions without feeling shy or embarrassed as a result of the workshop.

One girl reported that she had used the Ruby Cup and liked it. The others were still unsure but were willing to try it.

In the future, WoMena is hoping to get more feedback on whether or not the Ruby Cup is a better option for teen girls during their menstruation time. The process of change can take some time; however, together WoMena and Shanti are creating options that allow girls to stay in school during their moon time. This small change is one step closer to creating a movement that supports healthy woman in the communities surrounding the Luwero district in Uganda.

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