Out-of-School Girls' Empowerment Program

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

The program equips women and out-of-school girls in Kenya’s poorest communities with basic literacy skills to improve their lives and communities. It also focuses on investing in women and girls leading to improvement in health, livelihood, and environment.  In our technology-driven world, those without literacy skills are not left behind. This program solves this by targeting women and girls who are largely overlooked by traditional education programs. Literacy instruction is blend of in person and self-directed instruction.
Out-of-School girls are disadvantaged when it comes to accessing functional education due to social exclusiveness. As such, we incorporate simple technology into existing adult literacy programs, where the target group is equipped with foundational literacy skills and knowledge to improve their lives, and the ability to navigate technology necessary to enter the workforce or enroll in vocational programs.  


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2020 - 2025

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

Adapted

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Post-secondary

Other

  • Remote Learning

Other skills

  • Financial literacy
  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Rights/empowerment education
  • Social and emotional learning
  • Vocational training

Skills

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Other academic performance-related

Cross-cutting areas

  • Community sensitization
  • Digital literacy
  • Early/child marriage
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Empowerment
  • Food/water security
  • Menstrual hygiene management
  • Mentorship
  • Nutrition
  • Other cultural practices
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs
  • Violence (at home, in relationships)

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls out of school, Mothers, Other community members - female, Youth

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

All out of school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary
  • Vocational

Other populations reached

  • Community leaders

Participants include

  • Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)
  • Displaced/refugee - Internal (from other areas of the same country)
  • Homeless/street children
  • Indigenous
  • Nomadic groups
  • Orphans and vulnerable children
  • People living with HIV/AIDS
  • People with disabilities

Program Approaches Back to Top

Access to school

  • Alternative learning centers/mobile schools/home schools

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • Mothers' clubs

Curriculum/learning

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

Educational Technology

  • Computer-assisted learning
  • Digital devices for the purposes of studying, learning
  • Digital learning materials/programs
  • Digital reading materials (non-textbook)
  • Digital skills/literacy (including coding)
  • Online training

Facilities construction/improvement

  • Construction/improvement of libraries

Food/nutrition

  • Community food production
  • Food for peace/relief

Health and childcare services

  • Adolescent-friendly health services
  • HIV prevention
  • HIV treatment and care
  • Malaria prevention

Increased availability of learning materials

  • Increased availability of Art supplies
  • Increased availability of Fiction/non-fiction books (digital)
  • Increased availability of Fiction/non-fiction books (paper)
  • Increased availability of Math materials (rulers, protractors, calculators, etc.)
  • Increased availability of Writing materials
  • Textbooks (digital)
  • Textbooks (paper)

Learning while working

  • Apprenticeship/internship
  • Vocational training
  • Work-study

Life skills education

  • 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)

Mentoring/psychosocial support

  • Adult (non-teacher) mentors
  • Peer mentors
  • School-based counselors
  • 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)

Policy/legal environment

  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
  • Developing/promoting new laws/policies
  • Public-private partnerships
  • Raising awareness about existing laws/policies
  • System-wide review and reform

Reducing economic barriers

  • Financial literacy training
  • Income-generating activities
  • Microcredit

School-related gender-based violence

  • Anti-violence policies and codes of conduct
  • Support in and around schools (e.g. peer counseling, adult-to-student counseling)

Social/gender norms change

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

Teaching

  • Diagnostic feedback

Tutoring/strengthening academic skills

  • Literacy - outside the classroom
  • Numeracy - outside the classroom

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training
  • Leadership training
  • Self-help groups (financial, including savings and credit groups)
  • Self-help groups (non-financial)

Show More

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
  • Improved critical thinking
  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
  • Increased enrolment in primary school
  • Increased grade attainment
  • Increased literacy
  • Increased numeracy
  • Increased primary school completion
  • Increased progression to secondary school
  • Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
  • Increased school completion (general)
  • Increased school enrolment (general)
  • Increased secondary school completion
  • Increased secondary school enrolment
  • Increased test scores
  • Increased years of schooling
  • Reduced absenteeism
  • Reduced grade repetition

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved critical consciousness
  • Improved financial literacy and savings
  • Improved health - other
  • Improved mental health
  • Improved nutrition
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased employment/job-related skills
  • Increased knowledge of HIV, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health
  • Increased knowledge of rights

Additional Information Back to Top

Primary Contact

Solomon Kamau
Kenya Adult Learners' Association (KALA)
Programs Manager
solo.mburu@gmail.com