The main focus of the program has been to create a space in which girls exercise their rights, make their voices heard, and access their first leadership opportunities and make informed decisions. It has been learnt that if girls fail to attain education, they are at risk of teen pregnancy, child marriage, and other forms of gender-based violence.

This project also proved that education is critical in tackling harmful gender norms, and empowering girls to drive change. It has been giving girls the skills to become leaders, innovators and change makers, and to tackle future crises. The project managed to support 60 girls with school fees especially those who were withdrawn from child marriages.

Women and girls face serious social and cultural barriers of legal redress. They are often reluctant to use legal remedies because they don’t believe that they are entitled to protection. On one hand, they are pressured to avoid bringing ‘shame’ upon their families in terms of sexual abuse or any other kind of violence against them because jailing the perpetrator decrease the family’s social and economic status. On the other hand, they start practicing prostitution as it has been seen by them as the easiest way how to gain a higher income to support their families.

This is one of the reasons why many families accept their daughters’ choice of dropping out of school. Such cases increase the level of mental and physical violence that has been found to hav high consequences on the health and well being of the girls abused and neglected by the cultural misunderstanding of gender equality. It can also have a profound effect on girl’s emotional and psychological development. Women’s Hope for Change provide paralegal service to survivors of gender based violence are able to report and seek redress through formal justice system. Counseling, negotiation and mediation is done once they come to Women’s Hope for Change to seek for redress.

Conduct Community Interface where we bring the magistrates and police officers to the community to interact with chiefs as custodians of culture and community members on the laws perpetuating gender based violence.

Against women and girls/children. The stakeholders sensitize parents/guardians on increased cases of child marriages, defilement cases, roles and responsibilities towards the wellbeing of their children. This also helps them to know about the laws.

Conduct Community Interface where we bring the magistrates and police officers to the community to interact with chiefs as custodians of culture and community members on the laws perpetuating gender based violence.

Against women and girls/children. The stakeholders sensitize parents/guardians on increased cases of child marriages, defilement cases, roles and responsibilities towards the wellbeing of their children. This also helps them to know about the laws.

Build capacity of women and girls at all levels for effective participation indecision making forums and fight against gender based violence, poverty, hunger and injustices Also build capacity of traditional leaders as custodians of culture that should play a major role in preventing gender based violence in their respective communities.