Girls' Education for a Better Future in the Great Lakes Region

This project aims to increase the empowerment of girls adolescent girls and women through education including those who are refugees displaced returning to their countries of origin and persons with disabilities in the Great Lakes region. The project is a regional response to the educational needs of girls adolescent girls and women. The project identified twenty-four primary and secondary schools in Burundi the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to benefit from its activities with a total of 34 827 students between the ages of 5 and 18 (50% of whom are girls and 80% of whom are refugees/displaced persons). The project anticipates helping 22 172 girls enrolled in these schools (between the ages of 5 and 18 and of whom 73% are refugees or displaced persons) to experience an improvement in their education. 1 280 out-of-school girls and women will benefit from informal vocational training and support to develop income-generating activities and 6 300 women to strengthen their commitment to girls' education. This totals 22 314 empowered girls adolescent girls and women as direct beneficiaries of the project. Project activities include: (1) conducting a participatory holistic and gender-sensitive study on the individual status of girls and adolescent girls including refugees displaced persons returnees and persons living with disabilities (RDRD) and the obstacles and specific demands related to their education; (2) developing with the education staff teaching and learning materials that are inclusive gender-sensitive and adapted to the realities of the most vulnerable girls and adolescents including RDRD; and (3) strengthening coordination mechanisms among local national and regional actors involved in women's education to increase their participation and the consideration of their voices. The project is implemented by the Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation in partnership with local partner

The expected results of this project include : (1) increased equitable access and retention of the most vulnerable girls and adolescent girls including RDRD in safe quality and inclusive education; (2) improved equitable provision of innovative safe quality gender-sensitive formal and non-formal education for the most vulnerable girls adolescent girls and women including RDRD; (3) increased voice and leadership of the most vulnerable girls adolescent girls and women including RDRD in decision-making processes that affect them and in claiming their right to education.