Last year, Vision Spring Initiatives commenced its #GirlImpact Project. After 3 days of intensive training of 12 female volunteers on comprehensive sexuality education and other Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues, we partnered with two secondary schools in two local government areas in Lagos state- Kosofe and Ikorodu. The LGAs selected were from the VSI survey on identifying major areas with high teenage pregnancy and low awareness on comprehensive sexuality education.
According to the 2018 National Demographic Health survey, the percentage of young women age 18-24 who had sexual intercourse before age 18 decreases with increasing education, from 82% among those with no education to 17% among those with more than secondary education. These figures necessitate an early intervention on the sexual and reproductive health and rights needs of young people.
Participants listening attentively during a session at De-Keepers Secondary School, Ikorodu.
The #GirlImpact project is aimed to primarily educate senior secondary schoolgirls on comprehensive sexuality education. This will enable them to make informed choices and decisions around engaging in sexual activities. The National Demographic Health Survey in 2018 also shows that 19% of women initiate sexual intercourse by age 15 and 57% by age 18. By age 20, 7 out of 10 women have had sexual intercourse. Without adequate knowledge on sexuality and provision of safe spaces and access to health services, young women and girls are left to make wrong choices which can be detrimental to their health and hindrance to continuous formal education.
The #GirlImpact project also includes senior secondary schoolboys to create a balanced capacity building on comprehensive sexuality education. Other ancillary beneficiaries of the project are parents, teachers, and community members of the two schools’ locations.
Participants listening attentively at Sceptre Comprehensive College, Kosofe.
As of March 2021, the #GirlImpact project has had 32 sessions in the two schools from September 2020. Topics treated so far are Self Esteem, Introduction to Gender and Sex and Introduction to Human Rights. The students have participated in various creative activities such as poem, drawing, drama and other activities to express what they have learnt. We have also organized a celebrity guest appearance to encourage the students in the two schools.
In March 2021, VSI celebrated International Women’s Day in the two schools where the students discussed the ways to have more women in leadership positions in every sector. The event was covered by two media houses, Television Continental (TVC) and Arise TV.
To get weekly updates on our #GirlImpact project, follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @VSI_ng.
