GirlsEmpoweringGirls Programme
Young people have expressed concerns about a lack of education and employment opportunities and are losing hope of ever being able to achieve economic success
Background
By 2040, over 20 million Ugandans will reside in urban areas, with the highest proportion being children and young people. While children in urban areas are considered better off than their rural counterparts – with greater access to services and more diverse income-generating opportunities – they are also vulnerable to homelessness, exploitation and abuse.
In Kampala, 54 per cent of the residents live in slums with inadequate housing, poor sanitation and limited access to basic services, including education and employment. Adolescents and young people in urban areas face threats, especially girls and young women who are at risk of sexual violence and HIV/AIDS. Young people have expressed concerns about a lack of education and employment opportunities and are losing hope of ever being able to achieve economic success.
To support the most vulnerable communities, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) created the GirlsEmpoweringGirls urban social protection programme for adolescent girls in Kampala..
Objectives
- To ensure that girls transition safelyinto adulthood
- To ensure that girls receive education and training
- To ensure that girls are empowered to achieve their goals and make a contribution in their community and country
What is the GirlsEmpoweringGirls programme?
The GirlsEmpoweringGirls programme works to ensure that girls transition safely into adulthood, receive education and training, and are empowered to achieve their goals. It does so by supporting inschool and out-of-school adolescent girls living in Kampala, providing avenues to empower girls through a network of peer mentors, engaging them through education, training and referrals to support services, and enabling them to pursue better opportunities for their future through a small cash transfer. This is the first social protection programme in Uganda directly targeting children.
ENGAGE
support through referrals to services
ENABLE
opportunities through a cash transfer
EMPOWER
girls through a network of peer mentors
The programme design is informed by international evidence of the positive impact of combining services-oriented programming with a cash transfer, which have demonstrated promising results across education, health, gender, protection, livelihoods and similar dimensions.
Education, in particular, unlocks opportunities, as every additional year of primary schooling provides an average 10-20 per cent increase in wages.
It also encourages girls to marry later and have fewer children, and leaves them less vulnerable to violence.