For long, girls have been looked at as recipients of aid and not as key partners in development, but this is changing. To reiterate our commitment to working with girls to co-create, design and implement education projects, and promote their right to education, Tujifunze Africa Foundation conducted a dialogue with girls in Namasagali Senior secondary school in Kamuli District to:
- Create a platform for girls to share the challenges affecting their access to education, retention in school and completion.
- Come up with recommendations to stakeholders to improve their learning.
Girls in Namasagali Senior Secondary school highlighted challenges of;
Long distances to and from school, lack of female senior women teachers to provide counselling and guidance, lack of Sexuality education and menstrual supplies for them to use while at school, insecurity on their way home after school, sexual harassment from men, alcoholism of parents, lack of scholastic materials to mention a few.
The girls further brainstormed solutions and recommendations to the challenges identified above which included;
- Government to provide menstrual products to all girls in Uganda and for the school to train girls in making their own reusable towels for use.
- The need to provide a senior woman teacher to provide guidance and counselling services to girls.
- The need to train parents on good parenting skills and their responsibilities.
- The need for parents to provide scholastic materials for their children and for the school to collaborate with other stakeholders and organizations like Tujifunze Africa Foundation to provide scholarships for the most vulnerable girls in their communities that are unable to access education.
- The need for involvement of boys and men in conversations aimed at ending Gender Based Violence to promote positive masculinity and cultural norms
The girls committed to;
-Speak to fellow girls about consent and saying NO to sexual advances,
-Report any cases of violence at school and in the community to police, leaders and school leadership,
-Train fellow girls in making reusable sanitary pads, and
-Form a GBV club to fight violence at school.
Tujifunze Africa Foundation shall continue to engage the school leadership to act on the recommendations provided by girls in order to improve their learning environment, safety and education , and build girls’ agency through mentorship.
No comment