Street Child's pilot project in Somaliland has witnessed an impressive transformation in literacy and numeracy rates among women, with participants experiencing a remarkable increase from 0 at baseline to 92.3% at endline within just a year. Moreover, the project's impact extends beyond education, as it has also contributed to a significant 42% decrease in women's willingness to subject their daughters to FGM. This recent report highlights the transformational impact that educating women and girls can have on communities and future generations. The educational intervention has proven to positively impact multiple social issues such as attitudes and understanding towards child marriage, HIV, reproductive health and financial empowerment.
Basic literacy and numeracy classes were provided to women and girls outside school hours by community teachers in existing community spaces. With proper training and incentivization for community teachers, and the recruitment of five childminders to care for young children, mothers attending school no longer had to worry about their children's safety. Electric lamps were also provided to households so women could take tests at home, reducing the use of harmful light sources such as Kerosene lamps.
The project also successfully increased knowledge and access to maternal and reproductive health services by training six community health workers on those topics, who then conducted workshops and discussions with women in the community, transforming women's understanding of their reproductive health. This had an immediate impact, empowering women to make informed choices reflected in a 40% increase in the number of women seeking professional maternal and reproductive health services (from (44%-84%). Additionally, there was notable progress in women reporting safe reproductive practices and maternal self-care (from 20% at baseline to 67% at endline), as well as HIV awareness - which rose from 21% to 60%.
The increase in literacy and numeracy rates has had an impact in almost all other areas of women’s lives. An increased understanding of mobile money apps is actively narrowing the gender gap in financial institutions and empowering women with financial independence. Women reported that their enhanced literacy and numeracy skills has enabled them to communicate better with truck drivers, who drive to markets in the city and purchase grains and supplies on their behalf.
One mother even described how she now understood her own child’s schoolwork more: ’Nowadays, we are able to monitor the performance of our children in school because when we check their exercise books, we are able to interpret the meaning of the different marks the teachers write in red. We know the meaning of a tick and a cross. We are able to ask questions about the progress of our children with confidence, something we never used to do when we were illiterate.’
This report reflects the astounding ripple effect that providing women and girls with basic numeracy and literacy skills can have for generations. It is not just about learning to read, write and count; education gives women and girls choices and opportunities, allowing them to play an active role in their communities, breaking the cycle of poverty and closing the gender gap.