Piloting a safe spaces, asset-building program for adolescent girls in urban Ghana

Over the past three years, the Ishraq program in the villages of northern El-Minya, Egypt, grew from a novel idea into a vibrant reality. In the process, approximately 300 rural girls have participated in a life-transforming chance to learn, play, and grow into productive members of their local communities. Currently other villages—and soon other governorates—are joining the Ishraq network. Ishraq is a mixture of literacy, life-skills training, and—for girls who have been sheltered in domestic situations of poverty and isolation—a chance to play sports and games with other girls their age and develop a sense of self-worth and mastery; the program reinforces the lessons they receive in life-skills classes about hygiene, nutrition, and healthy living. This guide to the sports and games component of the program is geared to the needs of disadvantaged adolescent girls. It is intended for those in the development community interested in the potential of sports to enhance the overall impact of adolescent programs. Sports can be combined with other program components to give girls a more active experience, whether the primary focus is reproductive health, literacy, or livelihood skills.

Download Full-text

Lessons on literacy training for adolescent girls: Considerations for SWEDD safe spaces

10.31899/sbsr2021.1001 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Community Involvement ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Community Support ◽

Literacy Programs ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Safe Spaces ◽

Literacy Training ◽

Sahel Region ◽

Community Spaces

Literacy training for girls and young women can bridge the gap between girls’ low rates of schooling in the Sahel region and their desire for lifelong knowledge and skills. Literacy programs may also help promote community behavioral and attitudinal change by making the benefits of girls’ education visible. Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) has increased literacy training for adolescent girls (AGs) to add to the assets they need to improve health outcomes. As a response to the need to strengthen literacy training components in Safe Spaces, practical lessons from evidence-based programming were compiled. These lessons center the learning experience on AGs and emphasize the need for materials that actively engage participants and thus increase the likelihood of their retaining information. As noted in this brief, within Safe Spaces, literacy training curriculum content should be informed by AG subject matter suggestions to increase relevance to the girls’ lives, regardless of the setting (community spaces or schools). Additionally, instructors need dedicated training using simple instructions and evidence-based curricula. Community involvement may help ensure longterm community support for girls’ education.

Download Full-text

Perceived Effects of Participation in an Asset-Building Program on Construction of Future Possibilities

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1606/1044-3894.3656 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 88 (3) ◽

pp. 463-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Margaret Lombe ◽

Von E. Nebbitt ◽

Jessie Buerlein

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Development ◽

Community Action ◽

Psychological Effects ◽

Individual Development ◽

Asset Building ◽

Welfare Policies ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Perceived Effects ◽

Building Program ◽

Community Action Program

Acknowledging the inadequacy of traditional welfare policies in moving households from poverty to economic self-sufficiency, we examine the psychological effects of participating in an asset-building intervention. We use a sample of 840 respondents who were enrolled in a community action program and assess whether or not participating in an Individual Development Account (IDA) program predicts a respondent's construction of future possibilities. Results show support for the hypothesized relationships. Certain respondent characteristics—e.g., age and income—are significantly associated with the dependent variable. These findings may have important implications for social policy. Participating in an IDA program may empower program participants to think and act on future possibilities, influencing their outcomes as well as the overall socioeconomic development of their communities.

Download Full-text