Facilitating Meaningful Education for Girls in Zambia
Partner: Stephen Lewis Foundation
Background
In Zambia, schools are a lifeline that go beyond academic instruction and the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened decades of progress made towards HIV/AIDS and gender equality. In a country where schools were closed for ten months, the impact of this investment in education cannot be overstated.
This project will be implemented by the Twavwane Home-Based Care Initiative, the field organization of the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF). The SLF and Twavwane have worked together since 2010 in the areas of girls’ education, economic empowerment, SRHR (sexual and reproductive health rights), gender-based violence, and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Twavwane is a community-based organization, managed by a board of directors consisting of community leaders from various sectors, in Lusaka province, Zambia.
Project objectives
With a $50,000 grant from 60 million girls, this project will directly support 50 adolescent girls and 20 adolescent boys between grades 8 through 12. In addition, it will indirectly support 625 students a year who will benefit from the improved school facilities.
Grade 9 students in class
Twavwane will be able to expand and make vital improvements to its school, which is currently attended by 625 orphans and vulnerable children and youth. This project will also address key barriers faced by adolescent girls who risk being forced to leave school. 50 girls will receive educational support, which will include uniforms, funding for their school fees, and menstrual products. In addition, it will offer educational support for 20 adolescent boys.
A block of classrooms
The central component of this project is the construction of an additional classroom block that will contain a strong room, an examination centre, and a computer and science laboratory. An in-house examination centre will significantly decrease the barriers to writing examinations faced by students and lower the costs that the organization incurs for transporting students to examination centres. The additional space is also needed in order to safely accommodate students in school while maintaining public health measures such as physical distancing.
Girls receiving sanitary pads
The construction of a new classroom block that will focus on science and computer skills and allow students to take national examinations in-house is a bold and forward-thinking initiative for Twavwane. By offering STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses, Twavwane will improve the quality and relevance of the education offered to grade 9 students, in addition to moving towards being able to offer secondary courses for students of grades 10 through 12. This project will not only help keep girls in school during the grant year. It will also equip them to explore educational and career opportunities in STEM and help them thrive. With increased educational and career opportunities, girls graduating from Twavwane will be better able to support themselves and their families, breaking the cycle of poverty.
Why partner with the Stephen Lewis Foundation?
Students without electricity at home receiving solar lamps so they can study at night
The Stephen Lewis Foundation and 60 million girls have a longstanding relationship of mutual trust, respect, and support. We share the same belief in the need to support education for all children to build a more just and equitable world. The SLF recognizes that girls face particular challenges in attaining an education and require targeted interventions. 60 million girls welcomes the opportunity to partner once again with the SLF to champion the education and rights of girls in Zambia at a time when additional educational support is so critically needed.