Adolescent Girls Program
Our Adolescent Girls Program is an in-school program that focuses on building adolescent girls’ capacities for individual empowerment and social survival especially in patriarchal environments that do not value and respect the rights of girls and women. GUIU tackles gender inequality head on to ensure that women and girls become advocates for their human rights and build their self-esteem and self-worth.
HOLISTIC GIRLS MODEL
Year-long Training Program
Our year-long training program, which is spread over the school year includes sessions on critical topics for adolescent girls such as: life skills, gender and power, self-esteem and body image, puberty and menstruation, and violence against girls. All sessions are led by AGP Coaches- young successful women from the same communities as the girls who also act as positive role models.
Girl Up Clubs
It is vital that once participants understand the role of gender inequalities, we complement the trainings with practical hands-on skills. Girls meet during club meetings to develop practical hands-on skills in making reusable sanitary pads, bags, notebooks, etc. and have the chance to receive additional counseling and support as well as learning yoga, meditation, and arts.
Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is a central part of our girls' education programs. Girls need to know the correct information about their bodies and their rights so they can make informed decisions and speak up in cases of sexual violence. We offer counseling and emergency support for survivors of violence, and have an on-staff medical nurse to provide correct SRHR information.
Big Sisters
Network
The Big Sister network was established to offer additional leadership mentorship and support to alumni of the AGP training program to nurture and strengthen their abilities as mentors and peer leaders in their communities, schools, and homes. It includes the annual Big Sister Camp, ongoing facilitation and mentorship, and Big Sister-led outreach and community outreach activities.
Boy Champions Project
Even though girls are our focus, we believe that boys must be included in our programming to transform harmful gender norms. Therefore, the Boy Champions Project reaches out to in-school adolescent boys with critical knowledge and information to challenge gender normative attitudes and beliefs, and improve their knowledge around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender-based violence (GBV).
Parent and Teacher Engagement
GUIU holds bi-annual meetings with parents of AGP girls to promote girl-friendly home environments and to encourage them to understand the benefit of supporting the education of their daughters. We also organize teacher trainings with teachers from each school, so that they understand all topics in our curriculum and contribute to the conversation on how we collaboratively create girl-friendly school environments.
.
Girl-led Advocacy
We invest in building girls’ advocacy skills so that they can speak up with confidence in decision-making arenas. In particular, we focus on increasing girls' voices in national and international media and key decision-making spaces. Throughout the year, AGP girls, together with the Big Sisters, also organize advocacy campaigns to draw community attention to girls’ rights, particularly related to girls’ right to an education.
Adolescent Girls Program Report
The Adolescent Girls Program Report documents the findings and results of the program as well as best practices for other organizations interested in girl-centered programming.