The AGE Africa Difference: Life Skills

Life skills, is defined by the World Health Organization as the “abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.“  AGE Africa believes these abilities are particularly important for adolescent girls in Malawi, who face numerous socio-economic, cultural, parental, and peer pressures that often lead to early marriage, pregnancy, and/or their dropping out of school.

Creating space in which students can develop a stronger set of communication and interpersonal skills, decision-making and critical thinking skills, and coping and self-management skills may be the key to ensuring that more stay in school to finish their education, and that, even if post-secondary opportunities are unavailable, they are nonetheless better positioned to achieve improved outcomes in life.  The two core elements of AGE Africa’s Life Skills’ Program:

• Youth Participation
  
• Peer-to-Peer Mentoring

We cultivate the ability of our young people to self-advocate, lead their peers, and making healthy life & informed life choices by implementing a Life Skills Curriculum that puts our students at the very center.  Our girls co-facilitate each session and mentor each other on difficult issues: sex, pregnancy, peer pressure, and cultural norms like early marriage, that often force girls to abandon school.  While learning vital information, students are simultaneously developing leadership skills that will equip them for the rest of their lives.

Marching for girls’ rights in Malawi at the All Scholar Retreat 2010, Photo by AGE Program Intern, Annika Rigole.

As part of their Scholarship Package, AGE Scholars participate in:

• Ongoing Life Skills Programming throughout the school year-highlighting: peer based sexual & reproductive health, early pregnancy, STI, HIV/AIDS awareness & prevention, gender based violence prevention & resource access, self-advocacy, and leadership development.
• All Scholars Retreat: a once a year week-long retreat with AGE students from throughout the country who come together over the summer break to participate in intensive Life Skills education & peer mentoring.

Berthe Mpinga leads co-facilitators in discussion