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

The project aims to increase the empowerment of girls, adolescent girls and women, including those who are refugees, displaced, returning to their countries of origin and persons with disabilities in the Great Lakes region through education. The project is a regional response to the educational needs of girls, adolescent girls and women in the region. Thirteen primary and secondary schools have been identified in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to benefit from the project’s activities, with a total of 34,827 students between the ages of 5 and 18, 50% of which are girls and 80% of which are refugees/displaced persons. The project anticipates that: 17,400 girls enrolled in these schools are expected to see improvement in their education; 1,110 out-of-school girls and women are expected to benefit from informal vocational training and support for the development of income-generating activities (IGAs) and; 6,300 women are expected to be strengthened in their commitment to girls’ education; for a total of 24,810 empowered girls and women, direct beneficiaries of the project. Project activities include: (1) conducting a participatory, holistic and gender-sensitive study on the individual status of girls and adolescents girls, including 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; 3) strengthening coordination mechanisms among local, national and regional actors involved in women’s education in order to increase their participation and the consideration of their voices. The project is being implemented by the Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie (FPGL) and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) in partnership with local partners, including Caritas in the DRC, Maison Shalom in Rwanda, the Concertation des collectifs des associations féminines de la région des Grands-Lacs (COCAFEM) and Humanité et inclusion (Handicap International).