School Ambassadors Initiative- Girls in Leadership

School Ambassadors Initiative- Girls in Leadership

The School Ambassadors Program is a vital initiative that targets young girls in schools across various regions in The Gambia. It aims to enhance their knowledge of critical issues such as Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sexual Exploitation & Abuse (SEA), and Sexual Harassment. Additionally, it provides leadership training to prepare these young girls to become agents of positive change in their communities. We select students who stand out from the large group of participants that we have to represent the organization in their schools as school ambassadors and sustain the movement. Each school ambassador is usually tasked to work on a community project as part of their responsibilities in their respective roles. We offer continuous services to these selected members with our other curated programs and activities to build their platforms. In 2021, In collaboration with UNICEF we reached over 1300 young girls in schools in urban parts of the Gambia through our dynamic curriculum, engaging, and facilitating a network of sisterhood amongst them. During this training, we incorporated different modules of leadership styles and topics around Gender Based Violence. The latter gave us the baseline to discuss the effects of Female Genital Mutilation and Child marriage, debunking myths and providing factual literature to help our participants understand the overall concept. While delving in the leadership styles, we introduced self-care techniques, including affirmations, self- development, empowerment, elements of character, etc.  This year, In partnership with UNICEF, we reached over 1500 participants in rural Gambia with participants including young schoolgirls as well as boys. We have travelled through all 7 regions of The Gambia, providing compelling content, diving through the dynamics of GBV and leadership to the very diverse group of participants present.