Speak It Out Girl

This project will therefore target adolescents who are aged 14-19 years who are mostly in the upper primary school and lower secondary school, where this problem is most prevalent.

Traditional gender norms around marriage and childbearing often constrain girls’ opportunities for education. Many communities have negative attitudes towards the benefit of educating girls and as a result lower priority is given to girls’ education. Girls are seen as relatively transitory assets not worth of long term investment, as they leave their parents’ household upon marriage. Spending valuable resources such as money to pay for their education is therefore considered a waste because they are expected to be supported by their husbands once they get married. 

There are higher opportunity costs associated with girls’ education in most cultures in Zimbabwe. Girls are too often burdened with household chores at the cost of opportunities to build their lives. Compared to boys, girls carry a heavier workload and have less free time than boys. Girls, unlike boys, are expected to conduct most household chores while both boys and girls often help with farm work. For poor families, girls work inside the home to subsidise the household economy, through a range of household services such as fetching fuel and water to cooking, childcare, and dependent care. 

Poverty, hunger and lack of economic alternatives lead many adolescent girls to take significant risks. Sexual relationships between adolescent girls and older partners are a common source of money for food, school fees and other necessities for poor adolescent girls in many settings.  Many adolescent girls lack access to the most basic sexual reproductive health information – even relating to the significance and management of their menstrual periods. Menstruation causes high levels of absenteeism among adolescent girls and some girls drop out of school after reaching puberty because of the difficulty of managing menstruation while in school. Health care services are difficult for young people to access, especially more vulnerable adolescents such as rural youth. Family and community members, and even health care staff, often prevent young people from obtaining these services or fail to protect their privacy and confidentiality, which in turn deters young people from using these services. Lack of information on SRH often causes many adolescent girls to fall pregnant and therefore drop out of school, where unwanted pregnancies and early marriages frequently put an end to their aspirations for education and an economic livelihood.  Physical and sexual violence is also one of the barriers to adolescent girls as they attempt to achieve their educational aspirations. Experiences of physical and sexual violence lead to severe consequences in girls’ health and development such as depression, anxiety, risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. The underlying causes of violence against girls are attributed to inadequate knowledge and understanding of the value of girls’ right to participation and protection. To overcome the barriers to completing quality education, the following interventions are proposed

To address the problem identified above, Rosa Care will employ a human rights-based approach to development, where adolescent girls and boys, the community members, government officials and teachers will be empowered to take action to support girls’ education. Empowering the project’s stakeholders with knowledge, information and skills will ensure that behavioural change starts from stakeholders themselves. The project will also involve partnerships with local NGOs to implement interventions. Local partners live and work with local people and have a thorough understanding of the local context, including local people’s beliefs and attitudes. By partnering with local NGOs, the proposed interventions are most likely to bring about the outcomes proposed above.

The project will also employ a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach, where project stakeholders/beneficiaries are involved in all stages of the project cycle starting from project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This will ensure that the beneficiaries own the interventions as they will take part in all project activities. Rosa Care’s own experience and that of others implementing similar projects in Zimbabwe have demonstrated how the participatory approach of working with communities, government and NGOs in program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation produces positive verifiable outcomes and ensures sustainability.

The project timeframe is set for one year. Project activities will be implemented throughout the year of the project’s life. Some project outcomes are expected to start being realised from the months of the year of project implementation. Project monitoring, documentation of case studies and dissemination of best practices will be a continuous and consistent process occurring throughout the project’s life span, with a final evaluation conducted at the end of the project.

Many adolescent girls lack access to the most basic sexual reproductive health information – even relating to the significance and management of their menstrual periods. Menstruation causes high levels of absenteeism among adolescent girls and some girls drop out of school after reaching puberty because of the difficulty of managing menstruation while in school. Health care services are difficult for young people to access, especially more vulnerable adolescents such as rural youth. Family and community members, and even health care staff, often prevent young people from obtaining these services or fail to protect their privacy and confidentiality, which in turn deters young people from using these services. Lack of information on SRH often causes many adolescent girls to fall pregnant and therefore drop out of school, where unwanted pregnancies and early marriages frequently put an end to their aspirations for education and an economic livelihood. Although the Education Policy in Zimbabwe allows girls to return to school after giving birth, 38% of the girls do not go back to school. The process of re-admission often takes long, sometimes up to 2 years which is a setback for young women already battling community pressure to get married rather than return to school

The project is set to directly benefit 8,100 adolescents from 27 communities. Of these beneficiaries, 5,670 (70%) will be girls while the remainder (2,430) will be boys. The target beneficiaries will be adolescents from 10 – 14 years in the proposed project areas of the northern, Eastern , central and southern regions of Chikomba District. These direct beneficiaries will be trained and sensitised on their right to education, gender and sexual reproductive services. Furthermore, 1,620 (20% of the total beneficiaries) adolescents will be trained as peer educators who will go on to train and support other adolescents in their respective communities. Another set of direct beneficiaries will be 108 members of school management committees (SMC) and 108 head teachers and teachers from 27 schools that will be selected from the proposed project areas. These teachers and SMC members will have their capacity built and strengthened in school leadership and management. In addition to this, 30 district level government officials will directly benefit from this project in the form of capacity building for them to provide technical support to the schools. The direct beneficiaries of this project have been selected based on the findings arising from the Situation Analysis carried out by Rosa Caret. Through the situation analysis, the target group was involved in issue identification, which has formed the basis for the design of this project.

Rosa Care Organisation core strength is its excellent understanding of the community it serves and its practical approach of finding solutions to problems within the community. This strength is derived from the fact that many of its staff members themselves come from the same vulnerable groups that ROSA targets
Working through already established community structures enables communities to take action and own their projects, as seen in the child protection projects implemented. Rosa Care recently concluded its District Program Evaluations (DPE) and results have shown that in projects where beneficiaries were actively involved in all stages of the project cycle, the achievement of intended outcomes has been clearly demonstrated. Furthermore, it created a sense of ownership in the communities’ development projects. As we identified issues to be addressed by this project, we drew from experience and lessons of on-going projects relating to education, child protection, governance and health.

From our community empowerment program, we have been implementing gender related activities to empower women to take part in development activities and also decision making positions. We have also promoted women’s access to household income through VS&L schemes. Rosa Care is currently also undertaking its gender assessment study that will see gender mainstreaming in all program intervention and operations. Experience on SRHR has been focused on safe motherhood targeting women and adolescent girls. This included safe sex practices, family planning and general sexual reproductive health messages integrated in the HIV/AIDS program.

The project is set to directly benefit 8,100 adolescents from 27 communities. Of these beneficiaries, 5,670 (70%) will be girls while the remainder (2,430) will be boys. The target beneficiaries will be adolescents from 10 – 14 years in the proposed project areas of the northern, Eastern , central and southern regions of Chikomba District

To overcome the barriers to SRHR, the following interventions are proposed: § Support the training of 8,100 adolescents from 270 communities on their right to education, gender and sexual reproductive health services. § Support the mentoring of 1,620 adolescents from 270 communities in advocacy and leadership skills to become advocates, leaders and change agents on girls’ education and sexual reproductive health. These adolescents will become peer educators who will go on to train other youth on their right to education, gender and SRH services. § Support cyber debate and the production radio & TV programmes that discuss issues affecting girls’ education. § Support the production of adolescent magazine to discuss issues affecting girls in general and education in particular. The magazine will be featuring stories written by adolescent girls from their own experiences.. § Support girls’ conferences where girls will be brought together to share ideas and experiences. During these conferences, female role models will be invited to inspire the girls.

§ Raising awareness among parents, teachers, community & traditional leaders and district government officials on girls participation and their role in addressing barriers to girls education in their communities. § Support structured interface meetings/forums between adolescent girls on one hand and teachers, community leaders and district assemblies (government officials) on the other hand to lobby for the integration of girls into the governance structures including school management committees (SMCs) in their districts. § Mobilize parents of school going adolescent girls to form groups that would be engaged in micro-finance interventions. The parent will use the money generate from these activities to support girls’ education § Engage a consultant to work with adolescents to track government budget and expenditures at district and national levels for capacity building for teachers, school management, infrastructure development i.e., sanitation facilities, school maintenance and supplies provided that will benefit the girls’ education. Information gather from this exercise will be used to lobby for increased budget allocation towards education programmes in the national budget § Support the training of 270 out of school girls to acquire entrepreneurial and vocational skills to expand their livelihood opportunities § Support the training of adolescent boys and girls to acquire information and skills on sexual reproductive health and to take action to reduce risky behaviours. SRHR information will include adolescents’ rights to bodily integrity, including being free from violence, to choose their own sexual partners, when they want to have children, what form on contraceptives to use, parenting and relationships. § Facilitate the strengthening of Youth Friendly Spaces at community level for information dissemination and empowerment of adolescents - for them to challenge the norms and attitudes preventing girls from accessing their rights as young people, and how to prevent HIV & STI infection and early pregnancies. § Facilitate linkages between the adolescents and health service providers to improve the availability and accessibility of quality, adolescent friendly reproductive and sexual health services. 

The expected outcomes of this project include: § Increased # of adolescent girls enrolling in and completing upper primary and lower secondary education § Increased # of adolescent girls with improved knowledge on their right to quality education and sexual reproductive health services § Increased # of parents and community members with improved knowledge on the importance of girls education and agree that physical violence against girls is unacceptable § Increased # of adolescent girls engaged and participating in decision making at local levels including school management committees § Increased # of care givers who agree that girls’ right to education has to be fulfilled § Increased # of duty bearers (teachers, government officials and members of school management committees) trained on universal child right to education § Increased % of girls believing that their concerns are acted upon by school management § Increased # of adolescent girls who feel confident/listened to/respected by community members § Increased # of older girls accessing financial assistance for education from external actors such as local authorities and NGOs like Plan International § Reduced % of parents citing financial barriers as a reason for adolescent girls not attending school § Increased # of schools defined as “girl friendly” by adolescent girl pupils, adjusted from UNICEF standards. § Increased # of national and local education policies made more gender-responsive § Increased # of teachers trained with increased knowledge about gender-responsive treatment of boys and girls (i.e. challenging stereotypes, not enforcing gender roles) § Increased # of girls and boys with improved knowledge on SRHR (i.e. prevention methods and condom use negotiation) § Increased # of girls and boys who accessed SRHR services at least once in the last 6 months

§ Increased budget allocation to the education sector by the government § Implementation of policies that discourage early marriages

This project is aligned with the DFID’s priority that recognises the role of women in development and the promotion of gender equality through the provision of quality of education, elimination of forms of violence against women and girls, and the promotion of economic empowerment for women and girls. In addition it will also contribute towards the achievement of universal primary education (MDG2) - which looks at access, quality and completion rates; tackling poverty; promoting gender equality and good governance.

In terms of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it will contribute towards achieving five of the MDGs:(1) the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achievement of universal primary education; (3) promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; (5) improvement of maternal health (linked to SRH); and (6) combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Core to this project will be the achievement of universal primary education and the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. On the local front, the project is well integrated with the Zimbabwe Growth and Development Strategy (ZGDS)’s 3rd thematic area on Social Development that encompasses education, health and gender and the 5th thematic area on Improved Governance.

Today we employ 5 staff members on permanent basis 10 on part time basis and work with a further 54 caregivers on stipends.

4 years

The gender power imbalances, socio-cultural attitudes among men and women about sexuality and relationships, poverty and survival issues making women and girls vulnerable, have increased the vulnerability of girls to sexual abuse and contraction of HIV/AIDS. Gender based violence is mostly perpetrated by boys and men. Raising awareness of gender-based violence among this group of people will make them more aware of these practices and encourage attitude changing behaviours. Men and boys who are more knowledgeable on issues of gender based violence will be identified and be enlisted as champions of change. These champions of change/change agents will be involved in training other boys and men on issues of violence against girls as well as issues of sexual reproductive health. As part of their commitment, full attention will be given to the promotion of mutually respectful and equitable gender relations and particularly to meeting rights to reproductive health for adolescents.

To address the problem identified above, Rosa Care will employ a human rights-based approach to development, where adolescent girls and boys, the community members, government officials and teachers will be empowered to take action to support girls’ education. Empowering the project’s stakeholders with knowledge, information and skills will ensure that behavioural change starts from stakeholders themselves. The project will also involve partnerships with local NGOs to implement interventions. Local partners live and work with local people and have a thorough understanding of the local context, including local people’s beliefs and attitudes. By partnering with local NGOs, the proposed interventions are most likely to bring about the outcomes proposed above.

The project will also employ a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach, where project stakeholders/beneficiaries are involved in all stages of the project cycle starting from project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This will ensure that the beneficiaries own the interventions as they will take part in all project activities. Rosa Care’s own experience and that of others implementing similar projects in Zimbabwe have demonstrated how the participatory approach of working with communities, government and NGOs in program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation produces positive verifiable outcomes and ensures sustainability.

The project timeframe is set for one year. Project activities will be implemented throughout the year of the project’s life. Some project outcomes are expected to start being realised from the months of the year of project implementation. Project monitoring, documentation of case studies and dissemination of best practices will be a continuous and consistent process occurring throughout the project’s life span, with a final evaluation conducted at the end of the project.

Poverty, hunger and lack of economic alternatives lead many adolescent girls to take significant risks. Sexual relationships between adolescent girls and older partners are a common source of money for food, school fees and other necessities for poor adolescent girls in many settings. While girls may have considerable negotiating power over whether to form or continue such alliances, they have little control over sexual practices within partnerships, including whether condoms are used. Many adolescent girls lack access to the most basic sexual reproductive health information – even relating to the significance and management of their menstrual periods. Menstruation causes high levels of absenteeism among adolescent girls and some girls drop out of school after reaching puberty because of the difficulty of managing menstruation while in school. Health care services are difficult for young people to access, especially more vulnerable adolescents such as rural youth. Family and community members, and even health care staff, often prevent young people from obtaining these services or fail to protect their privacy and confidentiality, which in turn deters young people from using these services. Lack of information on SRH often causes many adolescent girls to fall pregnant and therefore drop out of school, where unwanted pregnancies and early marriages frequently put an end to their aspirations for education and an economic livelihood. Although the Education Policy in Zimbabwe allows girls to return to school after giving birth, 38% of the girls do not go back to school. The process of re-admission often takes long, sometimes up to 2 years which is a setback for young women already battling community pressure to get married rather than return to school. Although the Government has been committed to developing a good legislative environment to ensure the welfare and interests of girls and boys, this endeavour has been marred by many challenges associated with resource availability, low budget allocation in education and gaps in the enforcement of laws. Physical and sexual violence is also one of the barriers to adolescent girls as they attempt to achieve their educational aspirations. Some girls are physically or emotionally coerced or tricked into having sex. Experiences of physical and sexual violence lead to severe consequences in girls’ health and development such as depression, anxiety, risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. The underlying causes of violence against girls are attributed to inadequate knowledge and understanding of the value of girls’ right to participation and protection. The problems associated with adolescent girls’ education cited above were identified through the Final Program Evaluation and the Situation Analysis which Rosa Care commissioned recently. Some relevant government documents such as the MGDS were also consulted to identify these problems. 

Value for money will be achieved through the integration of this project into already existing ones, especially for education and health. This project will emphasise addressing gaps identified from the existing projects in the areas of advocacy, participation and community empowerment. Partnerships at local and national levels with government and local NGOs already engaged in adolescent girls’ programmes will be encouraged, to reach an optimal level of technical support to create synergies and impact. Provision of quality education includes infrastructure development, capacity building and material supply, yet this project will not include any infrastructure due to the high cost associated with this approach.

Adolescent girls, as the main beneficiaries of this project, will be involved throughout the project’s life. Girls will be involved in conducting the baseline survey as respondents as well as research assistants completing data collection and analysis. Girls will also be involved in the design phase of the project where they will participate in coming up with project implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation tools. Some girls will be involved in training and mentoring other girls, while others will act as role models to the younger girls. Through regular project review meetings, girls will be involved in shaping and re-shaping the project by coming up with new approaches to project implementation. They will also actively participate in monitoring and evaluation of the project