In Uganda, young women living in poverty are fighting an uphill battle against entrenched patriarchal attitudes and face nearly insurmountable odds, including low academic expectations and lack of access to educated female mentors willing to challenge them to be high-achievers.
In order to combat this, the AGYA Girls Program provides girls with positive role models and mentors, educational facilities and resources that will allow them to become successful female leaders in their communities. Through a multi-faceted outreach strategy, the AGYA Girls Program:
- increases access to education
- in 2009, we sponsored the annual tuition costs of 4 high school girls
- in 2010, we sponsored the annual tuition costs of 10 high school girls
- improve self-confidence and self-esteem
- increase computer literacy
- promote creative self expression and critical thinking
The Girls Program is currently working on the following initiatives:
"Adopt-A-Scholar" Mentor Program
Adopt-A-Scholar is a virtual mentor and scholarship initiative designed to provide teenage Ugandan girls with the encouragement, guidance, confidence and financial support to finish high-school and think critically about issues that shape and affect their lives.
Adopt-A-Scholar exposes teenage Ugandan girls to positive female mentors—the dynamic women from the Century City Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. based in California, USA. The Delta mentors are leading professionals in business, education, law and health. Members of Delta Sigma Theta serve as volunteer mentors and pen pals to girl scholars in Uganda. The program features a dynamic curriculum, thought-provoking readings, and weekly electronic communications on topics ranging from healthy relationships to beauty standards to education to women’s rights.The Delta mentors are making a substantial investment in the future of the mentees by volunteering their time and resources to communicate with their mentees via e-mail and help raise scholarship funds. By matching each Ugandan girl with her own individual Delta mentor, this Project cultivates and nurtures one-on-one relationships that help mentors and mentees learn more about one another and communicate on a more in-depth level.
There are currently 12 Ugandan girls and 12 Delta mentors participating in the program. Through this partnership, AGYA hopes to empower and encourage young women to take control of their futures, finish high school with strong academic rankings, and pursue higher education at the collegiate level.
Every Saturday, AGYA Girls Managing Director, Happy Namutebi facilitates an open dialogue with more than 25 teen girls. Past topics have included: teen pregnancy, sex education, standards of beauty, goal-setting, domestic violence, leadership, and polygamy.
10x10 Global Action Campaign: Educate Girls. Change the World.
AGYA is a partner in the fight to "educate girls, change the world" spearheaded by 10x10, a multi-dimensional global action campaign that uses media to drive engagement around the proven fact that educating and empowering girls kick-starts a dramatic multiplier effect of change for their families, communities, and whole countries. AGYA will represent Uganda by contributing media and photography pieces to 10x10 that focus on women's issues in Uganda.
MEMPROW: Intergenerational Dialogue & Local Mentors
Every month, AGYA sends 10-20 teen girls to attend monthly meetings at Kampala’s Imperial Royale Hotel. Organized by local women’s organization, MEMPROW, the monthly inter-generational meeting features discussion topics such as sexual reproductive health, social entrepreneurship, women in leadership, and education. By attending these meeting, AGYA Girls gain access to information, resources, and local mentors.
Collaboration with Uganda's Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development
AGYA Girls Program Managing Director Happy Namutebi is working collaboratively with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development to make sure that the AGYA Girls Program is in line with key target objectives for girls education and the Functional Adult Literacy program which teaches illiterate adult women to read and write.
