In Tanzania, girls face three critical challenges affecting the trajectory of their lives: HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy and violence.
Why we care: In Tanzania, girls are 2-4 times more likely to have HIV than boys, about 38% report unwanted sexual experience, and 70% of children experience physical violence.
How we’re solving this: We will empower 3,550 girls through an online space to share their voices, and provide educational and development programs through radio and SMS.
The program will focus on adolescent girls and young women in the Iringa, Mbeya, and Dar Es Salaam wards of the Temeke District in Tanzania. It will build girls’ agency, which means empowering girls and reducing the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS, pregnancy and violence through youth-to-youth peer education, capacity building, and effective referrals. This is part of the Together for Girls initiative which is a model that builds on and leverages existing programs and platforms wherever possible to integrate the issues of HIV/AIDS, violence against children and sexual violence into social welfare, health, education, and justice programs.
The program has three components:
- 100 social media workshops featuring a website and blog,
- support for 20 youth-to-youth Girls Clubs, and
- social media and SMS technology.
Through this program, 100 social media workshops will be held where a website and blog will provide a space where young women and girls will be able to share their voices, stories, and testimonies. 20 female-mentored safe spaces for girls will be supported where girls will be able to receive peer education and information on their rights and sexuality. These girls will be able to learn, discuss, and contribute to radio programs through a hotline or online. A cell phone airing company will also be involved to develop and distribute 1,000 behavior change messages to promote healthy and positive behaviors among girls and young women.
Administrative costs for this project include salaries, rent, supplies, and evaluations.