Project profile — She Belongs in School

• Mozambique (100.00%)

• Education, Level Unspecified: Education policy and administrative management (11110) (10.00%)
• Primary education:
Primary education (11220) (25.00%)
Basic life skills for youth (11231) (20.00%)
• Secondary Education: Secondary education (11320) (25.00%)
• Population Policies/Programmes And Reproductive Health: Population policy and administrative management (13010) (10.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (10.00%)

• Disability (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)

This project aims to support the empowerment and learning outcomes of adolescent girls, between the ages of 10 and 19. This project addresses the underlying harmful and discriminatory norms, practices, and behaviours that act as key gender barriers to girls’ access to school and learning and to realizing their right to education. This project also works to engage, mobilize, and build the capacity at the individual, household, community, and institutional level, including within schools, to promote the adoption of positive behaviours to improve educational opportunities for girls and women. Project activities include: (1) organizing mentorship programs for girls to improve their academic and life skills to help them progress with their studies and schooling; (2) conducting dialogue sessions with community influencers and gatekeepers to discuss and address gender issues; (3) organizing community education fairs promoting positive messaging and information for girls' education; (4) providing material and financial support (based on school attendance) on a pilot basis and implemented for girls and their families; (5) providing teacher development programs that focus on strengthening skills, with a focus on human and gender rights; and (6) implementing school improvement plans, with a focus on safety, water and sanitation, and inclusion. The project’s primary beneficiaries are adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 19, both in and out-of-school, with a particular focus on girls facing intersectional discrimination (such as those living in extreme poverty, in remote locations, or with disabilities).

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved behaviours and practices among families, husbands and communities, including religious leaders, that promote and support women’s and girls’ rights, particularly with regard to education; (2) increased self-belief, decision-making, and leadership exercised by adolescent girls to pursue their education; and (3) enhanced provision of safe and supportive learning environments that build the skills and competencies of adolescent girls and are responsive to their specific needs.

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: (1) increased girls’ enrollment levels in upper primary schools, secondary schools, and upper secondary schools by 28.7% in project implementation districts; (2) identified and trained 280 community gender equality champions (140 women) on gender equality, education rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual and gender-based violence, and children early and forced marriage; (3) engaged and trained 274 initiation rite providers (144 women) on children’s rights and safeguarding, and gender transformative approaches for culturally sensitive adaptation of initiation rites; (4) community interest groups established 140 community libraries to promote the right to education, particularly for girls; (5) trained 522 mentors between the ages of 17 and 25 (316 women) on the life skills and gender equality training toolkit; (6) trained and supported 140 school councils to implement gender-responsive and disability-inclusive school improvement and school emergency plans; (7) supported 527 teachers (99 women) by implementing a teacher development program in targeted schools; (8) 3,564 children (1,912 girls) benefitted from community-based homework clubs established to enhance their foundational literacy and numeracy skills; and (9) established 17 distance learning centres to expand access to secondary education in communities without secondary schools.

• Proactive disclosure