DREAMS Innovation Challenge (DREAMS IC): Eswatini

The Power of Educating Girls

Adolescent girls who attend school delay marriage and childbearing, are less vulnerable to disease including HIV and AIDS, and acquire information and skills that lead to increased earning power. Evidence shows that the return on a year of secondary education for girls correlates to a 25% increase in wages later in life. Providing girls with education helps to break the cycle of poverty, creating a ripple effect of opportunity that influences generations to come. We are implementing a two-year program in Eswatini that will reach 1,800 at-risk girls in Sithobela and Siphofaneni, deliver programming to retain girls in secondary school, and reach adolescent wives and young mothers who were forced to drop out of school through unique alternative education platforms. The suite of programming will increase educational outcomes, increase social assets, and change social norms with regard to girls’ education.

Prevention Initiatives: Keeping Girls in School

• Social and protective assets offered through Protect Our Youth clubs
• An Early Warning System to identify girls at-risk of dropping out and provide advanced support
• Scholarships to keep at-risk girls in school
• Community sensitizations on the value of girls’ education

Response Initiatives: Empowering Teen Mothers who are Out-of-School

• Non-formal education provided to out of school teen mothers who had to drop out of the formal school system.
• Social and protective assets offered through Protect Our Youth clubs
• Mentoring Program
• Early Childhood Stimulation training to ensure that young mothers can give their children the best start in life
• Community sensitizations on the value of girls’ education