Promoting Greater Access to University for Girls (U-GIRLS 2) Project

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

The U-GIRLS2 project aims to increase the empowerment of girls aged 15 to 25 and increase the participation of youth, their families and communities in addressing exisiting gender-related barriers for the advancement of girls' education in the Benishangul-gumuz Region of Ethiopia. It is a five -year program (June 2020 - June 2025 ) that enables 1,000 selected high school girls to reach university from seven secondary schools. Through U-Girls 2, adolescent girls will receive academic resources, training and tutorials, and a financial stipend to allow them to focus on schoolwork. Supports will also be provided to teachers and schools in providing gender-sensitive learnings. The U-Girls 2 project is being implemented in partnership with the Institute of International Education and is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.

Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ethiopia

Activity URL

https://cusointernational.org/news/cuso-international-is-removing-barriers-to-education-for-high-school-girls-in-ethiopia/

Government Affiliation

Government-affiliated program

Years

2020 - 2025

Partner(s)

Insitute of International Education (IIE) - a technical project implementing partner, Benishangul Gumuz Regional Education Bureau, Benishangul Gumuz Regional Finance and Economic Development Bureau

Ministry Affiliation

Benishangul Gumuz Regional Education Bureau, Benishangul Gumuz Regional Finance and Economic Development Bureau

Funder(s)

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

Sub-national

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Post-secondary
  • Secondary completion
  • Secondary Enrollment

Other skills

  • Financial literacy
  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Rights/empowerment education

Quality

  • School-related gender-based violence
  • Teacher training

Skills

  • Other academic performance-related

Cross-cutting areas

  • Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Community sensitization
  • Early/child marriage
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Empowerment
  • Female genital mutilation/cutting
  • Gender equality
  • Masculinities/boys
  • Menstrual hygiene management
  • Mentorship
  • Sexual harassment & coercion
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs
  • Violence (at home, in relationships)

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls (both in school and out of school), Mothers, Other, Youth

Age

15 - 25

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Community leaders
  • Other caregivers
  • Other family members
  • Parent-teacher associations/school management committees
  • Religious leaders
  • School administrators
  • Spouses/partners
  • Teachers - female
  • Teachers - male

Participants include

  • Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)
  • Displaced/refugee - Internal (from other areas of the same country)
  • Indigenous

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • Parent Teacher Associations (PTA)
  • Technical assistance/capacity building to civil society organizations or governments

Curriculum/learning

  • Gender-sensitive curricula
  • Increased availability of learning materials
  • Remedial education/skills

Increased availability of learning materials

  • Textbooks (paper)

Life skills education

  • Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)
  • Gender, rights and power
  • Negotiation skills
  • 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)
  • Sanitary product distribution

Mentoring/psychosocial support

  • Peer mentors
  • Teachers as mentors

Other

  • Informational interventions (e.g. returns to education)
  • Other activities to address/end violence (not captured above)
  • Other activities to end child marriage (not captured above)
  • Other activities to end FGM (not captured above)

Policy/legal environment

  • Raising awareness about existing laws/policies

Reducing economic barriers

  • Addressing cost of school supplies
  • Financial literacy training
  • Scholarships/stipends for school fees
  • Uniforms

School-related gender-based violence

  • Support in and around schools (e.g. peer counseling, adult-to-student counseling)
  • Training of school personnel (including teachers)

Social/gender norms change

  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Work with community leaders
  • Work with religious leaders

Teaching

  • In-service teacher training – gender-responsive pedagogy
  • In-service teacher training – pedagogy general

Tutoring/strengthening academic skills

  • Tutoring - general

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training
  • Leadership training

Show More

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
  • Improved critical thinking
  • Increased secondary school completion
  • Increased secondary school enrolment
  • Increased test scores
  • Reduced absenteeism
  • Reduced grade repetition

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved critical consciousness
  • Improved financial literacy and savings
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased knowledge of rights
  • More equal power in relationships
  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms
  • Reduced adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Reduced child marriage
  • Reduced intimate partner violence
  • Reduced poverty/increase household well-being
  • Reduced school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV)

Additional Information Back to Top

Primary Contact

Wendwossen Kebede
Cuso International
Ethiopia Country Representative
wendwosse.kebede@cusointernational.org