Starcy, Tracy and Adolescent's Rights (STAR) Association.

Equipped Adolescent Girls and Young Women Advocates and Ambassadors for Effective leadership and meaningful participation in decision making processes

The Creation of an Adolescent led organisation with Feminist principles

Feminist is simply inclusion, Adolescent's with the primary aim of being included will fuster decisions that will favour their peers who are not opportuned to be in decision making spaces

"Nothing for us without us" Adolescent Girls and Young Women need to be represented in all spheres at all levels of employment influencing policies to favour their growth and survival in the community. With Respect to this, Adolescent Girls and Young Women need to be Educated and become peer Educators.

With regards to;

Third sustainable development Goal; Good Health and Wellbeing

Fifth Sustainable development Goal; Gender Equality     AND

Sixthened Sustainable development Goal; Peace Justice and Strong Institution.

The Development of the female Gender is a major asset to the economy of any country

STAR Association is an initiative brought about by a Group of peer educators to equip their peers not only with leadership, soft skills but the entire Capacity Building process from intellectual to financial

Also this Education rendered to young girls will go a long way to raise awareness and even reduce the rate teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDs exposure, Child marriages, Gender based violence

Problem Statement

Gender inequality is still a prevailing problem in most Communities, as up until now the female Gender is still considered simingly irrelevant and used as forms of exchange, payments of dept, violated on daily basis and all this taken as normal all because of;

Lack of proper information on the side of the male and female

Lack of awareness with regards to services or service providers to services that maintain their well-being

Unwillingness to take up leadership by Adolescent Girls and Young Women because of Gender role norms in the society

Adolescent Girls and Young Women make up about 55% of the total active population of sub Sahara Africa which is about 58,000,000. Being majority of the population in almost every local Community, we make up majority of the labour force, implying that a nation with Empowered women is a community bound to succeed for example Rowanda, Ireland whose leadership system is dominated by Females

I strongly believe Women are the most unexplored resources in the world, as a natural biological impulse, they are able to multitask, improvise, and are very creative

Their natural motherly instincts makes them effective leaders and influencers.

"Educating a Girl Child Is Educating a nation". Since they impact the lives of children more than the males

Women's inability to decide their own fate has been taken as a vulnerability by many, making them the most infected with STI's, Affected by premarital Sex, Victims of GBV, and is regarded as normal to them.

My target population are Adolescent Girls and Young Women

Since most of them endolge in premarital Sex without knowing the implication and consequences

Also they are given out into Child marriages to pay depts, to increase family monetary status and sometimes all these are sandwiched between our norms and traditions  of our communities that goes against the rights of Adolescent Girls and Young Women

Adolescent Girls and Young Women are harassed and violated on a daily basis and fear to meet service providers, some don't even know of services that can help them, exposing them to infections and even death 

Adolescent Girls and Young Women do not have sufficient safe spaces or awareness of these spaces where they can go and get the required help or information, or share their stories

STAR's peer educators will act as Advocates and Ambassadors, representing and fighting for the rights of AGYW

The knowledge rendered to AGYW by STAR's peer educators will go a long way to strick precautions and cautiousness in the minds of AGYW as they will fully come to an understanding of their bodies and the dangers in the society with regards to Females.

- I have been opportuned to work with several feminist Organisations and even become a part of some, like 

Women and the Girl Child Empowerment, WAGCE, out to empower the girl child with skills for better independence

Common Action for Gender Development, COMAGEND, which is a women led organisation with feminist principles out not only empowering the girl child but also educating the males so instead of predators they become protectors, also training peace and Equality Ambassadors, Advocates and getting young girls involved in these processes.

-I carried out a little survey in my local community, where child marriages, teenage pregnancies, teenage mothers, majority HIV and AIDS infected persons are Adolescents, Teenage involvement in unsafe abortions, GBV Is very normal and considered a way of life even by the Adolescent's and this greatly influenced by their lack of knowledge in decision making, lack of skills and proper Education

-As a peer educator, Peace and Equality Ambassador, and Advocate for the Sexual Reproductive Health Rights of Adolescent Girls and Young Women I have been carrying out little campaigns, online workshops, having meetings in my house educating my peers on their Sexuality and laws that back their rights, most have been very inquisitive to know more, others surprised about the realities they were unaware of.

Gender Inequality

Which according to the 

3rd Sustainable development Goal

5th sustainable development Goal

And 

16th sustainable development goals,

Gender Inequality is a major cause of health issues, and economic problem, an environmental issue as Climate change seriously affects the life's and wellbeing of Adolescent Girls and Young Women

Gender Inequality is refusal or discrimination upon an individual simply because of their gender

STAR Association is an organisation with Feminist principles made up of Adolescent Girls and Young Women leaders and Is considered on the Scale stage of development 

Because STAR Association will run and manage a business to ensure it's sustainability, 

We are expecting to grow significantly as we impact more life's and 

Also focusing on the efficiency of our services to Adolescent Girls and Young Women, Stakeholders, and funders

My Solution utilises and already existing technology that is the social media platforms for engagement of young people

Advocacy Campaigns

Meeting Stakeholders, funders and decision makers

Also for Communication with team

Projectors, laptops and other mobile devices to facilitate meetings workshops and boot camps

Currently my knowledge as an advocate helps my peers about 3- 5AGYW every 2 weeks

I expect to reach 100 Adolescent Girls and Young Women yearly 

Impact Goals

-To achieve transformed and Professionally skilled Adolescent Girls and Young Women

-To Educate about a 100 Adolescent Girls and Young Women every year

-To achieve a higher standard of living thereby reducing death rate

-To achieve Economic Justice for adolescent girls and young women

- Increase the number of women owning businesses by 5% in my community

Objective

-Bringing in the best trainers for the Adolescent Girls and Young Women

-Bringing in business orientators to guide them on how to successfully run a business

-Organise workshops, Bootcamps, seminars and trainings sessions to educate my peers 

Measures taken to calculate successes 

Follow ups will be done Quarterly to check on Adolescent's who participated in training programs

The number of Adolescent Girls and Young Women who know their rights should increase atleast by 5% in my Region yearly

Simingly achieve Gender Equality in my little Community

Increase access to Good Health and Wellbeing due to knowledge and awareness of services for them

Financial barriers on my side and my team

Official legal permits from the government to certify us as an association

STAR is a women led organisation with Feminist principles guiding us

Firstly, Being Adolescent's, We can better relate to other Adolescent Girls and Young Women and Better understand the Challenges they face

Being peer Educators and Volunteers in various Communities all over the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, we better understand the problems faced by Adolescent Girls and Young Women in these communities and are in the best situation to plan and implement programs for AGYW survival

Being Youth Volunteers And Advocates we have connections and mentors that will help guarantee the success of this Association

Empathy, love and Unity amongst our team members puts us in the best position to carry out such a project

Team Skills

Some of our members are skilled in Pastries, Ankara Production, leadership skills, Technology, hair do 

We have networks in;

WAGCE a feminist based organisation in my community with women skilled in producing Ankara's, Some of our members are volunteers and members

CREMAH AFRICA a public Speaking firm that works to build Self Confidence and Councelling to business owners, Some members are Volunteers

COMAGEND a feminist based organisation that provided our first platform, funded by HER Voice Fund Some members are Her Voice Fund Advocates others are Peace and Equality Ambassadors for COMAGEND

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education Cameroon Some are Volunteers/ Conscripts of the National Civic Service Agency for participation in development

Not qualified because I am 19years old

My Solution will go a long way to improve the lives of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in my Community 

I am below 24years old of age

A financially Stable woman is not a liability and therefore less prone to GBV, and  infection

My Team comprises Entirely of Adolescent Girls and Young Women making us the best people to implement a solution for us

The Pozen social innovation prize will be used to run my solution from start to finish and remains used to foster activities of the Association and further programs to help other young women