Keeping Girls in School (KGiS) project addresses the issue of declining school attendance and increasing drop-out rates of primary school girl students as they reach puberty, start menstruating and often become pregnant. The goal of the projectl is for girls to have access to quality education and to be able to complete primary and transition to secondary and higher education. The project, implemented in all three communities we work with – Nakuru and East Pokot in Kenya and Babati District in Tanzania – educates girls and their families on the importance of education for girls. It provides guidance, counselling and empowerment workshops to girls and women to build their self confidence. Lack of sanitary products means that 74% girls miss 4-5 days of school per month. So They Can supports school going girls with washable sanitary products which leads to 100% attendance among the girls who received them. KGiS raises awareness about the importance of educating girls and the risks of Female Genital Cutting (FGC)and child marriage, cultural practices that continue in the communities So They can works with. The project builds the capacity of loca communities representatives to become Champion Mothers, Fathers and Grandmothers and to help spread the word. In East Pokot, one of these communities, 85% girls aged 9-13 years old are subjected to FGC and early marriage. By ensuring these girls receive an education, So They Can helps to protect them from these outdated cultural practices
The planned outcomes, and outcome indicators, of So They Can’s KGiS project are:
1: Girls have improved access to safe and affordable sanitary products measured by:
Number and percentage of girls with access to sanitary products
2: Girls have improved school attendance measured by:
Number and percentage of girls with period absenteeism
School attendance rates for girls with periods at partner schools
3: Girls transition from primary to secondary schools Increased measured by:
Number and percentage of girls transitioned into secondary school
4: Girls have improved academic performance measured by:
Number and percentage go girls demonstrate improvement in their academic performance as a result of Days for girls Kits
5: Girls and mothers have improved adolescent health and women’s health knowledge measured by:
Number and percentage of
girls with high self-rating of knowledge in adolescent health and women's health
mothers with high self-rating of knowledge in adolescent health and women's health
6: Girls and mothers are empowered and confident to advocate for and exercise girls’ rights to
health and education measured by:
Number and percentage of:
girls with high self-rated self-esteem
mothers with high self-rated self-esteem
girls with high self-rated self-advocacy
mothers with low self-rated self-advocacy
7: Teachers are empowered and confident to deliver curriculum and provide mentorship on adolescent and women's health
So They Can collects information about delivery of Keeping Girls in Schools throughout the year and compares actuals against annual project plans to monitor the progress towards achieving annual targets.
So They Can uses a variety of data collection methods/tolls including:
•Keeping records of washable sanitary pads distributed in each participating schools
•School attendance records and academic performance records (to evaluate change of attendance rate and performance for girls equipped with sanitary pads against baseline data and transition to secondary schools)
•Each Champion Monther and Father keeps track of training and community sensitisation sessions and number of attendees
•Through Champion Mothers and Village leaders monitoring trends for FGC and child marriage and early pregnancy
•Direct interviews with girls participating in the project to understand how gaining understanding of their rights, access to sanitary pads and raised awareness within the community contribute to their self-esteem and general wellbeing
Information collected by So They Can project staff in Kenya and in Tanzania is compiled into monthly reports to So They Can in Australia. So They Can posts regulars update including success stories on our social media and our website blog. So They Can sends updates to our donors and supporters in form of project updates, acquittal reports, newsletters and once a year we publish an Annual Report which is also shared on or website.
It is what the MCC groups are all about: men being accountable for learning about and responding to inequality and, importantly, supporting women who have been leading the charge for decades. Like many men, I am a newcomer to these issues and am learning as I go.
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