School Mothers and Girl-Friendly Spaces
- P Project/Program
? Activity Status: Unknown
Key Information
The School Mother’s programme works with the school and community to identify local women who volunteer to mentor girls and advocate for girls’ education in their schools. School Mothers work with a specific school, which they visit weekly, and sometimes daily, to support their girls. They run workshops for girls on female hygiene, sanitation and other important life skills. They help teachers understand girls’ needs, and ask teachers to notify them when there are worries about particular girls. School Mothers also actively advocate for girls’ education in the community. They visit families to provide individual support to girls who are being held back from school or whose parents are considering early marriages for their daughters. They fulfill their advocate role within the Parent Teachers Association of the school, and by liaising with district education authorities.
Lead Implementing Organization(s)
Location(s)
Sub-Saharan Africa
Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Uganda
Government Affiliation
Non-governmental programYears
Not applicable or unknown
Partner(s)
Not applicable or unknown
Ministry Affiliation
UnknownFunder(s)
Positive Action for Children Fund
COVID-19 Response
UnknownGeographic Scope
Global / regionalMeets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES
UnknownAreas of Work Back to Top
Education areas
Attainment
- Primary completion
- Primary enrollment
- Primary to secondary transition
- Secondary completion
Other skills
- Life skills/sexuality education
- Rights/empowerment education
Quality
- School facilities
- Teacher training
Skills
- Literacy
- Numeracy
Cross-cutting areas
- Early/child marriage
- Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
- Emergencies and protracted crises
- Empowerment
- Gender equality
- Menstrual hygiene management
- Mentorship
- Other cultural practices
- Social and gender norms and beliefs
- WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)
Program participants
Target Audience(s)
Girls (both in school and out of school), Other community members - female, Youth
Age
Not applicable or unknown
School Enrolment Status
Some in school
School Level
- Lower primary
- Upper primary
- Lower secondary
Other populations reached
Not applicable or unknown
Participants include
- Other
Program Approaches Back to Top
Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization
- Community-based monitoring (e.g. school report cards)
- Community mobilization
- General awareness-raising/community engagement
Life skills education
- Gender, rights and power
- Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)
- Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building
Menstrual hygiene management
- Educating girls about menstruation
- Raising awareness about menstruation (beyond just girls)
Mentoring/psychosocial support
- Adult (non-teacher) mentors
- School-based counselors
Policy/legal environment
- Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
- Developing/promoting new laws/policies
- Raising awareness about existing laws/policies
Tutoring/strengthening academic skills
- Literacy - in the classroom
- Numeracy - in the classroom
Water and sanitation
- Construction/improvement of sex-specific toilets
Program Goals Back to Top
Education goals
- Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
- Increased enrolment in primary school
- Increased grade attainment
- Increased primary school completion
- Increased progression to secondary school
- Increased secondary school completion
- Increased years of schooling
- Reduced absenteeism
Cross-cutting goals
- Increased agency and empowerment
- Increased employment/job-related skills
- Increased knowledge of HIV, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health
- Increased knowledge of rights
- More equitable gender attitudes and norms
- Reduced child marriage
- Reduced poverty/increase household well-being
- Reduced school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV)