Promoting Girls' Education in Refugee and Host Communities through an Interactive Radio Method with Mentorship

Author: Derick Ngaira, Africa Voices Foundation, April 29 2021

Background
Girls in Kenya's refugee settlements have been affected by lack of economic resources, early marriages, early pregnancies, lack of role models, and/or the perception that schools are unsafe environments. These reasons have in many cases hindered girls from attaining their learning outcomes. In response to the predicament faced by girls in refugee and host community settings in Kalobeyei, Africa's Voices Foundation (AVF) undertook community engagement and mentorship activities anchored in interactive radio programming to provide life skills through positive modelling and mentorship approaches.

Initiative
With support from Windle International Kenya (WIK), AVF carried out detailed interviews and recruited mentors who had a good understanding of child protection guidelines and expertise to positively engage the young girls. The mentors guided the girls in developing their confidence to be able to speak for themselves while boosting their understanding of their rights. The social mentors were experienced social workers who have worked on projects in the same locations aiming at empowering girls and advocating for equal rights for both boys and girls.

The mentorship approach was aimed at building girls' (12-17 years) knowledge of the risks they are exposed to and at building individual and collective efficacy in protecting and standing up for themselves. The mentorship aspect also involved guiding the girls to undertake different forms of activities to help them stay positively engaged as they undertake their schooling. Through meaningful interactions, the sessions guided girls towards building life skills and making informed choices as they navigate everyday life in their community. The mentorship programmes also provided a space for mentors to facilitate follow-up discussions that not only contributed to content creation for the weekly shows aired on the Binti Imara programme on REF FM but also enabled girls to share different thoughts on issues affecting them.

[Editor's note: Click here to learn more about the radio station on which the shows are broadcast; click here to learn more about the larger project of which the mentorship initiative on the AVF website; and click here [PDF] to read a progress report on the related Kenya Equity Education Programme (KEEP II) and its social and behaviour change (SBC) elements.]

Success Stories

Methodology:

To understand the impact of the mentorship programme, AVF interviewed some of the girls who took part in the programmes. AVF also interviewed boys who were part of the listening groups. The ones selected for the success stories were the ones whose contributions during the radio listening groups were most significant. They were also most interested and willing to share their views.

The selection was done with the help of the mentors, and parental consent was sought before seeking consent from the girls. The participants who consented were interviewed by the mentors and their views recorded. These were later transcribed by AVF and translated into English.

Case studies: [Disclaimer: In accordance with AVF's data protection policy, all names used in the case studies are pseudonyms and not real names.]

Case I
Jane, a 14-year-old grade 5 student at a primary school in the area, was one of the beneficiaries of the mentorship sessions. She is a Congolese refugee. Jane confirmed that girls in Kalobeyei face a lot of challenges. She mentioned the issue of girls being harassed by boys and the unintended pregnancies that result. This problem, she mentioned, is always more common when the schools are closed. She directly linked the early pregnancies to the rampant poverty in the community that leads to the inability to afford basic needs such as sanitary products, undergarments, and uniforms. When parents are unable to provide these items, some girls seek them out from others; in the process, some get raped and subsequently become pregnant.

Life in the camps is difficult. Others say when they ask from their parents they do not get it hence they go out and get pregnant while looking for such items. Others have not gone to school. Whenever they ask their parents to go to school they are told the teacher will beat you because they do not have a uniform or others will make fun of you. That is why girls turn to other vices and there is also a lot of cases of rape in the settlement.

The mentorship sessions made Jane more motivated, and now she believes that when she goes home she will be resourceful to her peers. She says that with the new knowledge, she is able to share what she learned with other girls so they can also be confident as they pursue their studies: As girls we always tell stories and discuss amongst ourselves. Myself with the information I have been taught, I will be able to share with them, impart on them and from that they will be upright and confident girls.

However, Jane mentioned that in future, the organisers should provide sanitary items, since their needs are many, and they cannot afford all of them with the little amount of money they have. Most of the parents use their cash transfers (bamba chakula) to buy for their daughters basic necessities such as sanitary pads, but still the money is not sufficient.

We need girls' sanitary materials. If they are included the girls will be more motivated to attend the training and mentorship programmes.

The challenge remains in helping parents understand the importance of education for girls. Jane regrets the fact that some parents contribute to these vices by not meeting their children's basic needs (e.g., uniforms) so they can continue with their education. She thinks there is a need for them to motivate their children by providing these items so they can stay in school and complete their education.

Case II
Mary, a 17-year-old grade 8 candidate, is just days away from her national exams and feels the mentorship programme shouldn't just end with the five shows. She thinks it should continue because the few days were not enough, and there is more they have yet to learn from the social workers and mentors. In addition, she thinks that teachers, especially female teachers, should be close to the girls, since they identify more with them and understand their challenges. The girls are more confident in approaching them than they are male teachers: When we speak to male teachers we will not be open to tell them what we wish to say.

With respect to the benefits of the mentorship sessions, Mary feels they were helpful in improving her confidence and how to manage resources: I have learnt a lot. I have learnt to take care of myself and be confident and also how to take care of my money once I get it.

According to Mary, the challenge for the community still remains with parents who have held on to negative cultural traditions that promote early marriages and that view girls as not having rights. They suffer from a heavy domestic chore burden relative to the boys because of the negative cultural view that the role of girls is to work. She believes that these social norms should be addressed because education is important, as it prepares girls for the future and is an investment.

Our parents have held so much onto negative cultural traditions that promote early marriages and that girls do not have rights. They give more rights to boys than girls saying girls' role is to work.

Case III
Many of the boys are willing to support and encourage their sisters to ensure they pursue their studies despite the negative norms that have persisted and continue to hinder their access to education. The boys are also aware that the domestic chore burden negatively affects the girls and ought to be addressed by the family.

The role boys play in the drive to have girls stay in school could not have been put better by Keith, a male student who attends secondary school. Having been one of the male participants, Keith was thankful for having learnt how to encourage not only his sisters but also other girls in the community. Keith referred to the "African tradition" that relegates girls to the home as boys go to school as one of the retrogressive cultural practices that denies girls the right to education.

This is not right as per what I have learnt through this programme. I have learnt that both girls and boys should go to school for their future life. From my side, what I would tell the programme is to advise our parents to tell their children to go to school and not only boys but everyone. The way to stand with the parents is to tell them what you can achieve after completing education. Show that this is what you can achieve after education...I have learnt how to encourage my sisters or other girls in the community because what our parents have been telling us that girls are not supposed to be is school is not right. There is no one who should remain at home.

Final Words

Based on the case studies, AVF concludes that the mentorship programme has contributed to building the girls' knowledge about their rights, as well as their efficacy on decisions that affect their lives. The mentors also played a pivotal role in equipping girls with the skills and knowledge they need on a day-to-day basis to counter some of the stereotypes and negative cultural norms hindering girls' access to education and some of the challenges they face to be able to attain their goals in life.

Image caption/credit: "Students listen to radio classes in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. The schools are managed by The Lutheran World Federation." Credit: AVF

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