Jielimishe GEC project is one of the existing education projects in the country whose major focus is to improve enrolment, attendance, retention and learning through its targeted integrated intervention. The project is funded by the UK government (UKAID) through Department for International Development (DfID) and is being implemented by I Choose Life Africa and her partners; Kenya Red Cross Society and SoS Children’s Villages Kenya. The project seeks to improve life chances of marginalized girls in Kenya through education, through an integrated intervention and multi-level approach.
The project seeks to address 5 key challenges affecting marginalized girls’ attendance to school and learning. These challenges are: Cultural barriers, quality of teaching, leadership and management of schools, inadequate infrastructure, and inconsistent implementation of MoEST pro girl education policy and lack of adequate motivation for girls to attend, stay in school and learn. The consortium envisions that, with the girl child at the core, as a result of addressing the school environment (the quality of teaching, infrastructure and teacher attitudes); the girls’ community (parents/primary care givers, community gate keepers/resource persons) as well as government policies and their implementation the marginalized girls shall enroll, attend, stay in school and learn ultimately resulting increasing their life chances.
I Choose life-Africa and her strategic partners seek to achieve the following objectives:
Jielimishe Girls Education Challenge project aims to improve education outcomes to better life chances of 10,170 marginalized girls in Laikipia, Meru and Mombasa counties. The project runs the intervention in a total of 60 schools (40 Secondary and 20 Primary), 20 in Laikipia (10 Secondary and 10 Primary), 20 in Meru (10 Secondary and 10 Primary) and 20 (all secondary) in Mombasa. In Primary the project targets grade 4 to 7 while in secondary it targets form 1 and 2. Besides girls in school, the project also targets 500 out of school girls with a broad objective of having them enrol, attend and stay in school and learn. Since this is a research project, Jielimishe GEC works with 20 control schools for comparative reasons with the interventions schools as far as demonstration of the effectiveness, relevance, and impact of the project on improving quality of education is concern.
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The conference employs the quadruple helix approach of bringing together the Government, the Academia, the Private sector and the CSOs in accelerating development. There are opportunities in submission of abstracts, participation as delegates, exhibition of products and technologies and sponsorship in hosting the event. In the Summit that was held in April 2017, over 100 abstracts were received with 1200 delegates participating.
The initiative acknowledges that keeping adolescent girls and young women HIV free also positively impact their overall health, education, development, and wellbeing. The DREAMS strategy underscores the provision of adolescent friendly services and AGYW empowerment in all spheres of life. Through the interventions, various involvement of the community structures put in place to ensure that all the sexual reproductive health services provided are AGYW friendly.
Interventions under DREAMS are tiered based on appropriateness of the cohort of 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24years. The project seeks to work with all stakeholders including relevant national and county governments’ ministries and departments, faith based organizations (FBOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), schools and vocational institutions and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to help girls develop into determined, resilient, empowered, aids-free, mentored, and safe (DREAMS) women.