Event Date: Thursday 27th , December 2018
Joy for Children was happy to take part in the convening by GirlSPARKS. The GirlSPARKS, is a global training initiative, working with organizations and individuals to deliver more effective programming for adolescent girls through an experiential and tailored Girl-Centered Design approach. The event took place on 27th September 2018 at Grand Thompson offices. JFCU was represented by the Advocacy Manager Ms. Kahunde Erina and the Assistant Program Officer Ms. Namayanja Peace.
The Girls Speak Out event was organized by the GirlSPARKS team in partnership with Global Fund for Children, Health plus Development Communications (HeDCO) and Rhythm of Life.
The event marked the start of creating opportunities to meaningfully include girls in our programming, and highlighted the need to listen to girls as we create those opportunities. The girls clearly echoed the need for all stakeholders to support them in our work.
Some of the key issues highlighted by the girls were:
- There is need to end early forced marriage and support those girls who have been forced into marriage
- Education of the girl child is a must and needs to be a priority for everyone responsible.
- Girls need to be supported to access information and services such as Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Men need to protect and support girls, not rape them
- Girls need to be given platforms and opportunities to speak about matters that concern them
- Defilement in schools needs to be checked by the government and other stakeholders. Sex offenders need to be dealt with immediately and accordingly.
- Girls who have had children at a young age need to be supported to continue with their education to completion.
- Girls living with HIV (young positives) should not be discriminated against or stigmatized by society. They need to be accepted by society and empowered too through education, counseling and engagement in activities just like any other girl.
- When we educate girls, we educate generations.
Take away:
- LISTENING to girls should be a major component of any programme or initiative that targets them.
- JFC-U could also replicate the event in some of the sessions especially during the girl summit organized by Girls Not Brides Uganda which is due 30th November 2018.
- Girls with Disabilities face more child protection challenges including sexual violence and yet their services/facilities are limited.
