Girls Empowerment for Community Development.

The specific problem is the alarming increase in the number of teenage pregnancy.

Teenage pregnancies and teenage motherhood is among the leading cause of maternal mortality and maternal morbidity and it is one of the most sensitive indicator of health in the world. This is both in developed and the developing countries. In the world the maternal mortality rate of teenage pregnancies accounts for 25%(WHO 2019 report) and Africa is 18.8%, India is 21% and Bangladesh have 35% and the remaining percentage 25.2% is distributed to the rest of the countries not mentioned here. (reports WHO 2022).

In East Africa there is approximately 54.6% teenage pregnancies, of this Rwanda is 36.15%, and Uganda is at 25% reported by UNFPA in 2021. Over two million girls suffer chronic diseases, shame abandonment by the parents, stigma, and disability. 

In Uganda UNFPA reported about 438 maternal mortality in 2021 and in 2022 UNHCR reported about 1400 teenage pregnancies in Bidibidi refugee settlement alone. 

The factors contributing to the problems are; forced sex, peer influence, week performance in class, limited knowledge on their menstrual health, forced marriage. Keeping girls out of school, Limited health care information, Restrictions of the girls to chose their desired career. With all this we think to work to wards fixing part of these problems. We need to give them the health information they are missing and see them leave a life long in school.

The conceptional Problem frame work below will help us smartly handle the problems.

SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.

Age, Tribe, Religious, level of education, and Homestead.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.

Cultural norms, peer pressure, Parental alcohol dependence, Domestic  violence and Poverty.

BEHAVIORAL FACTORS. 

Early sexual activities, multiple sexual partners, Alcohol abuse competitions during boy girl relationship and contraceptive use.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS.

Rape.

OUR SOLUTIONS. 

Dramas to be conducted in the camp schools to health educate them.

Teaching them on menstrual health.

Community sensitization on the importance of educating a girl. 

Developing a group whatsapp for raising questions concerning body changes.

Selecting lead girls to act as mother to a specific group in the community to minimize un wanted behaviours for which the lead is rewarded for keeping the group safe.

Training in poultry, goat rearing and tailoring  for those weak girls in class.

Exposer to those who have had some problems and complications due to teenage pregnancy but should be under consent.

Poverty eradication among the refugees and the host community to minimize domestic violence.

Families that exposes teen girls to sexual activities are looked into by either removing the girl from them or they are talked to.

Libraries and computer centers put in place to solve time wasting.

Parental care sessions on how to monitor the movement of their girls to minimize un wanted visits to the boy friends and understanding the needs of the girls. 

Boys are also to be included in the program.

The target population are the;

Girls.

Boys.

Youths.

Religious leaders.

Stake holders.

Girls are looked as source of wealth in south Sudan communities and such have greatly contributed to their neglect were the parents say even if I educate girl, she will be married to someone and she will benefit that community. This truly made many of the girls been left out of school fee budget. And more so now in the Refugee camp parenting is left to the hands of women, men moved back to South Sudan due the Reduced food Ratio of 3kgs per person per month.  This now made these girls to under look their mothers that is why we wanted to join help them.

Those who were by then had joined the war in the bush and have committed crime back home are now drinking alcohol every day in the camp because they are mentally confused and had noway of returning back and the girls they care for are completely un happy.

The inability of the parent to buy needs of the girls especially soap, jelly, cloths, pads since they work hard this days to get food to feed the family neglecting their needs.

They are really under served in the following ways; 

In their Health.

In Provision of their needs.

Justice for raped.

Forced marriage.

Education.

Psychosocial support.

Choice of their career.

In their Rights.

If all is looked at and the solutions worked then their will be a few number of teenage pregnancy, school dropouts, literacy level will increase, their will be reduced poverty, their will be reduced forced marriage, their will be reduced number of chronic illnesses, their will be reduced maternal and child mortality in the community, and their will be reduced preterm births.

That is it we needed a complete change in the community that we think was tried by UNHCR but we think they are withdrawing and inturn increasing the problem since there has not been a tentative solutions like what we are righting about to do.

Teenage pregnancy has direct effect to the health and the social wellbeing of the teenage girls when they are pregnant. Some one said that when your wife is pregnant you too will also become pregnant. Meaning we feel directly the problem of this young girls when they have problem not even UNHCR but the community. 

We are the community and Refugee themselves and we know the problem. Here we are called classroom teachers by Windle international Uganda. We are in the class together with this girls and we know the length of the problems as we serve the school without full authority and command as in South Sudan.

My community needed services that are result oriented not those who come and lie to the people sighting promises that are not tangible. They needed involvement in the campaign.

They want to be introduced and continued with if a session is started not only leaving them on the way. Meaning the organisations come and leave them on the way some only months or a year.

The community needed owning of the services and they need to fully participate in it.

The complement of the community.

The community much appreciated the move and are willing to allow the girls to be taken care by us in the CBO.

They are able also to see to it that our way to the registration is open as the RWCs, LCs, OPM and the Religious Leaders gave us recommendations to go ahead and register which was done as I write.

They have responded to the first dialogue in number meaning they strongly needed transformation.

Even ideas of having lead mothers was initiated by them. Mothers are selected to take care of or advice girls of the neighbour. And the idea works.

Some of the members in the CBO are clinicians and nurses and this is simplifying our work.

Hoping for the cooperation to continue for better results. 

We are serving about 150 selected girls and boys for week ends teaching sessions on physiological changes, sexual transmitted diseases and personal hygiene. But big number on the drama sessions in two zone five secondary schools and four primary schools in Bidibidi refugee settlement Yumbe district.

Placing or distributing posters to each family or home stead were there girls and this posters shows out by both the impact of the teenage pregnancy and success stories with simple drawings.

Door -to- Door campaign at least twice a week, Debates, traditional dance songs, dramas and Road drive compaign all carrying similar massage. And in this they are directly involved and has significant of improve reading ability, spoken English, Abstain and build talents.

If funding is available cash depose can be a good option to encourage daily attendance of classes and keep them to stay in school since they may put in mind that when she spoil the opportunity she may not get it again. This will solve what UNHCR reported a concern this year 2023 that the number of refugee out of school has increased. It's good idea but fundings, they don't demand much only 10 USD which is 35000 Uganda shillings and is enough for average girls demand for two or three months and in year it could be 100 USD or 110 USD they are happy and stay in school. 

Lead teenage girls are exposed to health centers to see their fellow sisters who got pregnancy suffer during deliver as early communicated early some of us are medical officers and exposer their could seen as good idea as this can be done in shifts.

Increase the out teacher resource since school teachers don't have enough time to teach sex education or even menstrual health so we are thinking this done  best when we have more trained more human resource only to handle them off school and may need a mixture of health workers other youths.

Varieties of trainings to occupy those out of school busy not to mislead those still in school. Computer training, tailer, Agricultural training and so on.

Rewarding the hard working girls to encourage others work hard and this is through scholarship.

Bring girl who successful with education to challenge them.

Advice we are here truly dieing with ideas  but we hard no power to convert the idea into use.

What it feels to be  refugee marcy upon us GOD.

In five years time we would wish to see a community of girls who are with social and economic strength to better their health and living standards.

We would want see reduced number of teenage pregnancy by encouraging safe sex practices and most importantly abstainence.

We want see discipline, loving and peacefully community who observes correct rights of the girls.

We would also want see Educated community of girls who intern come back to serve others.

We would want Zero teenage maternal mortality in the health centers.

Increase the level of livelihood to minimize poverty to both the girls and those near her.

Improve on the food security by facilitating agricultural activities.

We want also see improved rains by encouraging them plant tree which here the host community openly cry much on.

We need to see a single girl left out and this is done through psychosocial support and counselling and hope restoration.

We would like also to see that sexual violence to girls is not common and this can be done by involving the police and the law makers.

We would like to see a community free of forced and early marriage.

EXPECTED OUTCOME.

By the end of a particular project in a financial year we would like to see about 150 teen mothers as we believe should return back to school and about 500 school going girls are properly educated about the dangers of teenage pregnancy and how early marriage will cost them.

As result of the project at least 30 to 40 community leaders, local authorities, women leaders and relevant stake holders in the project have to be positively be changed of their attitude and perceptions concerning teenage pregnancy eradication.

The project also may look at involving about 200 people in a year and these are the parents, Parents Teachers Associations, School Management communities, Social workers, CBO board members, Teachers, policy makers, the different ministries and institutions concerning education, gender, religion heath social and welfare in the view to change the perception of solving and reducing teenage pregnancy in the community.

LOGICAL FRAMEWORK.  

INTERVENTIONS (LOGICAL GENERAL OBJECTIVES)

To promote girls empowerment and eradication of high rates of teenage pregnancies amongst teenagers and increase the knowledge and awareness to go back to school.

To increase capacity building to women, child mothers, local leaders, government officials in the implementation and support advocacy awareness activities.

To increase more appropriate support for girls child education.

To asses all organisations that support girl child education.

To mobilize beneficiaries and local community identification for the project.

To discuss forums conducts and conversations groups on gender and girls child education.

To select girls who are victim of teenage pregnancy to be the beneficiaries of education support and livelihood skills.

To help in provision of support to girl child mothers affect by teenage pregnancy with basic needs.

OBJECTIVE VERIFICATIONS INDICATIONS.

Low case of teenage pregnancy on the community.

Improve the girls skill by engaging them in the livelihood program to improve there economic status hence generation of income. 

To conduct a number of awareness events.

To ensure teenage mothers go back to school.

To conduct a number of community capacity building and workshops.

To ensure that local staff understand and maintain the goal guarantee sustainability.

To provide scholarships and other materials to the girls. 

To carry out monitoring visits and assessment report.

Carry out health tests in the community.

METHODOLOGY.

Pair to pair education.

Dramas 

Debates 

Questions and answers.

Lecture methods.

Demonstration methods.

Learning aids and illustration method.

Lastly demonstration methods.

Thanks for reading.

We are seven in number.

Hakim James  +256787967919

Juma Samuel  +256780847362

Stephen Musema.  +256777821599

Munduru Betty.  +256778713737

Mojan Simon.     +25678885025

Luka Emmanuel.

Dani John Jonga 

We are still two year in the field.

It is o no the basis of intelligence, hard work and commitment to serve the community not tribes but am happy for this team.

We are from both the host community and the refugee, Munduru Betty is an Aringa and is from the host community and we need her because of the language and having in that common goal of seen free community of teenage pregnancy and the social economic transformation of this girls who are the future leaders.

We are also mixture of teachers, religious leaders, youths, Elders, medical officers and community leaders. John Danni Jonga is our elder and at the same time pastor. Hakim James is the clinical officer and so on.

When you look at the team also we have different tribe.

Pojulu two people,

Kakwa two people,

Aringa one person,

Kuku one person,

Keliko one person.

Truly we collected people who have high populated here in the camp were we  live if all goes well if we may expand become big we will now include other tribes.

As a team we all have one strong vision and our vision states community of girls with social and economic strength to better their lives Health and living standard. And when this is in you mind then you will be not segregate or divide the team or even the beneficiaries.

The core value of GECOD are as follows.

Communication. This is always made possible by sharing the much needed important massage to right people at a right time and in aright place for people to trust the work you do.

Innovation. We should most often think of what exactly may shot the interest of the community the ideas brought on board has to internalized and made us of immediately. Meaning we should be bringing new good ideas everyday.

Team work. Togetherness pay. Work is made simple when all work jointly.

Inclusion. All are one weather your blind, disable, having chronic sickness, women or girls, youths or elderly we need to be together if one vision and mission.

Accountability. We are determined to be accountable to what so ever we have used of course if it's money or to what so ever that we have started. Every challenge belong to us and it needed us all.

Lastly the strongest is to empower every body that our services targeted to meet our vision of social and economical strength to better the leaving standards.

When all these are acquired their will be a greater sense of fulfillment, we will meet the needs, have sense of belonging and we will truly own our goals.

The community if well handled the impact will be,

Income generation.

Employment opportunity to youth both educated and non educated.

Reduced teenage pregnancy may be released.

Reduced school dropouts and absentism. 

Reduce poverty and increased food production.

Environmental conservation since their is tree planting.

We normally look at the contributions from the members.

We also did fund raising by doing community cleaning and we act out some dramas that people pay this enable us to release some money.

Now we are looking forward to see that we receive some grant or donations.