On 13th-14th August, 105 members of Girls’ clubs from 21 pilot schools as well as their gender focal teachers and school leaders met in Rwanda’s Capital Kigali in a two days boot camp.

During the two days, participants of the boot camp discussed topics that focused on how to challenge traditional gender role expectations while considering academic pursuits and future careers, Life skills empowerment, Building Healthy Relationships and Confidence building and self-esteem boosting.

Members of the Girls’ clubs shared their testimonies of how the Girls’ clubs have helped them to increase their confidence and perform better in class. They equally shared some of the challenges which include family conflicts, poverty, lack of sanitary materials and that in some schools there are no safe spaces for girls who are menstrating.

Our Building Learning Foundations programme works with all government aided and public schools. The Girls clubs have been established in 21 schools as a pilot in all provinces of the country.

BLF intentionally chose to work with girls in public schools because they are more vulnerable to violence and low rates of information on sexual and reproductive health and rights compared to girls in private schools. Girls in public school often experience gender discrimination and have to struggle with the challenges of living in poverty.

BLF aims to create a gender sensitive school where adolescent girls develop leadership skills and self-confidence Girls clubs target in-school girls aged between 9 to 18 years, and by empowering two gender focal teachers at each of the 21 pilot schools with a focus on knowing their body changes, being assertive, communication skills, avoiding peer pressure, building self-esteem, and so many other topics.

You can view the highlights from the boot camp on this link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVHQuw-iZ_4