Omukisa Foundation

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GIRL CHILD LEARNING

Young Mothers & Girl Child
- Friendly Learning Spaces

Omukisa Foundation is a pioneer in improving girls’ education and girl-friendly schools, and has set standards for this work which are now being used by the organisation in Nabukalu village, Bugiri.

In most of the communities where we work, it is not social practice to send girls to school. Resources are scarce and the little money that can be invested in education usually goes to boys. It is a huge challenge to persuade many families and households to agree to send their girls to school. Girls face enormous pressure to stay at home and to fulfil their traditional role as caregivers, wives and mothers. In some places, girls who have been sheltered and kept at home fetch a higher bride price, which incentivises keeping girls away from school.

Our immediate focus is to continue our path of a high quality standard of project delivery accompanied by good governance in all our projects. Additionally, we are in the process of scaling two of our key projects and extend their reach to an ever-increasing number of beneficiaries, while also taking the community school to new levels of excellence.
Once at school, the lack of recognition of a girl’s right to education makes many school environments unsuitable or even unsafe for girls. Most schools were constructed based on the assumption that it would predominantly be boys who would attend; therefore, many lack the proper sanitation facilities required by adolescent girls. Regularly missing school every month hinders girls’ academic progress Predominantly male teachers and fellow students do not necessarily recognise or support girls’ right to proper education. With few educated women in their communities, many girls have no one to look up to and no one to stand up for them. There are very few female role models, such as female teachers, to support and encourage girls to stay in school. Having a female role model advocating for girls’ education is a powerful way of showing girls, their parents, and their communities the benefits that a girl’s education can bring.

How does it work?

Girls need school’s spaces where they can feel comfortable, supported and encouraged in their education. Omukisa Foundation is transforming school environments and train community-based school mothers who are mentors, advocates and counsellors to primary and secondary school girls.

The Girl-Friendly Spaces project encourages schools to adapt their environments so that girls can feel comfortable, and concentrate at school. Making the school space girl-friendly involves providing girls with a place to study and gather, which is also equipped with a private toilet-block, girls can use without embarrassment or discomfort. Girls-only study spaces also provide the base school clubs which are supervised and assisted by female staff members or senior girls. Clubs provide an opportunity for girls to discuss their problems together and encourage each other in their studies.

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.