Despite major increases in girls’ access to education in Uganda through the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and UPOLET, learning outcomes are still poor and gender inequalities persist. Given the developmental benefits of education – for individual girls, their families and communities, and wider society – these inequalities represent significant lost opportunities. Adolescence is a pivotal time in a girl’s life when girls develop a range of political, economic, familial, psychosocial, physical and educational capabilities enabling them to make their own decisions in life.
KAWA Uganda in collaboration with Learn With Grandma between 18th June and 18th October 2019 traversed the country reaching out to 20 secondary schools to promote skill-based education for girls within the ICT Clubs. The KAWA team delivered talks and engaged in conversations with some of the club members. Some of the students enthusiastically shared their learning project works that they already were embarking on.
The Curriculum for the empowerment of girls Education is intended to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills play an important role in empowerment processes for girls and boys. These skills build self-confidence and are valuable in adolescence and adulthood to address personal as well as livelihood challenges.
The KAWA team handed to each club about 100 T-Shirts branded in UCC logos, and a pair of Samsung Galaxy tablets donated by UCC for implementing club activities.
Our interest is in exploring that potential and how to create opportunities for every young adult to aspire to own – the ability to have a political voice, to be educated, to be in good health, to have control over one’s body, to be free from violence, to be able to own property and earn a livelihood, to be economically and politically empowered.
Key objectives outlined are:
- Building in the students the skills of using ICT more effectively and responsibly.
- Building communication skills and confidence in the learners
- Enabling creativity and innovation
- Developing critical thinking and problem-solving mentality
- Engaging Girls in programs and activities that develop a sense of global citizenship
- Helping girls to be able to purposefully network, collaborate and work as a team.
- Becoming peer learners that guide and support fellow students in learning and effective use of ICT in education.
- Empowering learners to address real issues affecting their communities and finding solutions to them through innovative learning projects.
KAWA’s talk with the Girls encompassed the aims and objectives of the project, 21st-century challenges and opportunities that young people must equip themselves to face, and employability skills – hard and soft.
In addition to its effects on economic development and public health, education contributes to women’s empowerment through the following pathways:
- Developing skills and capabilities such as critical thinking, literacy and numeracy, and communication skills, which lay the foundations for decent livelihoods and equitable relationships in adulthood.
- Increasing girls’ self-confidence, agency, and ability to express their hopes and make decisions about their own lives.
- Increasing women’s likelihood of obtaining better-paid work.
- Developing gender-egalitarian attitudes among girls and boys. can be