Girls’ Rights Organisation, She’s the First, has embarked on a journey to empower girls beyond the usual areas of Education in their schools and communities.
Through their strategic plan for 2023 to 2025, they hope to give girls the skills to become powerful forces in the Country.
Kate Kiama, Director of Programs at She’s the First, said that empowering girls is vital because when girls learn, and more women lead, outcomes are better for communities.
“When you educate girls, a country’s economy improves, as educated girls are more likely to join the workforce, delay childbirth, and participate in civic life. Girls’ education is even one of the top mitigators of climate change,” she said.
However, Kiama said that empowering girls and giving them a voice is not enough.
She said they also need a platform and opportunities to speak on their own behalf.
She said over the years, educating girls has been seen as a strategy and a means to an end, but an opportunity needs to be provided beyond that education.
“We are calling this strategic plan the Power Plan is more than just giving girls an Education. It is about increasing their choices and their capacity to thrive in the world,” she said.
Kiama said that one of the ways they will be doing this is by involving girls in decision-making across the many Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) they partner with.
“Girls know their needs better than anyone, which is why we ethically include girls in our decision-making processes and in our program evaluation to impact their agency, access, and equity in CBOs positively,” she said.
“We wish to provide girls with the foundation they need to advocate for their rights in their families, communities, and societies."
Kiama said that they would explore these girl-centred approaches over the next three years and produce a report on their impact.
“We plan to create numerous ways for girls to engage in decisions about our programming. We'll work with them directly to continue identifying new methods of engagement,” she said.
She’s the First also to plan to launch a girl-led granting initiative, where girls actively design programs for their organisations to receive implementation funding.
“The more we can incorporate their thoughts, ideas, and goals into our work, the more successful we'll be at building a world where every girl is educated, respected, and heard,” she concluded.
