EAGER–Every Adolescent Girl Empowered and Resilient
- P Project/Program
A Active
Key Information
IRC’s Every Adolescent Girl Empowered and Resilient (EAGER) project will target up to 32,500 of Sierra Leone’s most marginalised, adolescent girls. This will include girls who are pregnant or young mothers, girls who are married, those who have been affected by Ebola, those affected by violence, and those who are engaged in income-generating activities and/or cannot afford the cost of schooling. The project supported girls in three cohorts which included those who had never been to school or who had dropped out early, with a specific focus on girls with disabilities. EAGER aimed to improve learning and support girls to transition primarily to vocational and professional training, self-employment or other employment, and where feasible, formal/non-formal education. The program had multiple activities, such as: an 11-month learning programme which included nine months of literacy and numeracy classes and life skills classes, followed by two months of business skills classes; it also supported the Government of Sierra Leone to achieve their strategic outcomes for increased literacy for out-of-school youth and engage the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in developing the first approved basic literacy and numeracy curriculum for out-of-school adolescent girls.
Lead Implementing Organization(s)
Location(s)
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sierra Leone
Activity URL
Government Affiliation
Government-affiliated programYears
2020 - 2024
Ministry Affiliation
Sierra Leone Ministry of Education, Science and TechnologyFunder(s)
Not applicable or unknown
COVID-19 Response
Not changedGeographic Scope
NationalAreas of Work Back to Top
Education areas
Other
- Transition from school to work
Other skills
- Financial literacy
- Life skills/sexuality education
- Rights/empowerment education
- Social and emotional learning
- Vocational training
Skills
- Literacy
- Numeracy
Cross-cutting areas
- Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
- Early/child marriage
- Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
- Empowerment
- Gender equality
- Mentorship
- Social and gender norms and beliefs
Program participants
Target Audience(s)
Girls out of school, Youth
Age
13 - 17
School Enrolment Status
All out of school
School Level
- Lower secondary
- Upper secondary
- Vocational
Other populations reached
Not applicable or unknown
Participants include
- Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)
- Homeless/street children
- People with disabilities
Program Approaches Back to Top
Access to school
- Alternative learning centers/mobile schools/home schools
Increased availability of learning materials
- Educational Radio or Television Programs
Learning while working
- Apprenticeship/internship
- Vocational training
- Work-study
Life skills education
- Gender, rights and power
- Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building
Other
- Informational interventions (e.g. returns to education)
Reducing economic barriers
- Addressing cost of school supplies
- Financial literacy training
Tutoring/strengthening academic skills
- Literacy - outside the classroom
- Numeracy - outside the classroom
Women's empowerment programs
- Empowerment training
- Self-help groups (financial, including savings and credit groups)
Program Goals Back to Top
Education goals
- Education sector plans, budgets, policies, and data systems are more gender-equitable
- Gender parity and non-discrimination are promoted at all subjects/education levels
- Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
- Improved critical thinking
- Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
- Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
- Teachers and learners have the knowledge and skills to promote gender equality
Cross-cutting goals
- Changed social norms
- Improved critical consciousness
- Improved financial literacy and savings
- Improved maternal, newborn, and/or child health (MNCH)
- Increased agency and empowerment
- More equitable gender attitudes and norms