Partnership with Girl Leader Empowerment Program (GILEP) & the Brush Foundation
The Need
Women in the Chiradzulu District of Southern Malawi suffer tremendous harm due to a lack of reliable sources of SRH information and services:
- The median age of a young girl’s first pregnancy in Malawi is 19.[1]
- Only 41% of those unmarried and sexually active report using contraception.[2]
- According to the Chiradzulu District Assembly, the HIV rate for Chiradzulu District is approximately 15.1%,and is one of the top most affecteddistricts in Malawi.
- Women in Malawi are 5 times more likely to become infected than young men
- 33% of young women in Malawi still do not know that condom use can prevent unwanted pregnancy and STIs.
The Response: Girl Shower Retreats!
In an effort to combat these startling trends, AGE Africa has partnered with a local Malawian NGO, the Girl Leader Empowerment Programme (GILEP) and with funding through the Brush Foundation, is implementing a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and Life Skills education curriculum for female secondary school students in Malawi. The Girl Shower Retreats bring 250 young women together from 8 different Community Day Schools throughout Chiradzulu and Blantyre Districts for weekend-long intensives in leadership development and Life skills. This innovative and comprehensive approach to SRH education and Life Skills empowers girls to:
- Prevent unwanted pregnancies;
- Avoid STIs and HIV, and;
- Achieve greater career advancement by successfully completing secondary school.
[1] Girls Discovered. Available from http://www.girlsdiscovered.org/map/population
[2] Girls Discovered. Available from http://www.girlsdiscovered.org/map/population
