Education offers opportunities

to smart women

Esther was 15 years old when her mother died. She had to quit school and had to work in a hotel in order to supply herself and her siblings. In the hotel she was forced to do unpaid overtime work and prostitute herself. Last year Esther heard of Somero and joined the association, because she was desperately searching for help. She completed a seven-month computer course at the Somero Center. The staff helped her to come to terms with her past. Esther has become a positive, self-confident woman. After the course Somero employees procured her an internship at an office. Her computer skills are highly demanded and she eventually was employed as a secretary in the office. Now she can cover her younger sister's tuition fees.

Background

At the heart of the problem lies the lack of opportunities and the financial dependency of many young women in urban areas in Africa. The Ugandan education system is caracterized by high drop-out rates. Only fifty percent of male adolescents (UNICEF 2010) and only a third of the girls achieve graduation. Since 2000 female completion rates have even declined (United Nations Girls Education Initiative 2012). The reasons for the higher drop-out rates of girls are in many cases arranged marriages and adolescence pregnancies (UNGEI 2012). The completion of secondary schools is virtually impossible for girls from poor economic backgrounds, as tuition fees are high for secondary education in Uganda and school expulsions of pregnant girls are a common practice.
Due to the lack of qualification and training, young women often have no chances to get a real job. Given that girls from poor families cannot expect any financial support from their parents, they usually have to rely on male support in the townships. Moreover, sixty percent of young women are victims of physical violence (State of Uganda Population Report 2011). At the same time many people consider marital violence as legitimate. This mixture of gender inequality, lack of professional alternatives and inadequate sex education results many times in teenage pregnancies.

The good deed

Education and training are key to a self-determined and independent life for young women in Africa. However, in order to create real prospects of formal education, individual counseling is needed, which supports girls in their projects. The training at the Somero Center provides a good environment for participants to acquire the necessary professional skills, such as language, numeracy and computer skills, and can be advised individually in the Somero Center. The team arranges internships and organizes site visits at potential employers.Through today's good deed one day of participation in the training for a girl in Uganda will be financed.

Challenge

The particular challenge for the NGO is to offer not only courses and seminars, but also to give the girls advice and support to develop their strength and self-confidence after years of dependency. Basically, this means encouraging the girls to see themselves as active and idependent members of society.