Adolescent Girls Programme
Our new Adolescent Girls Programme is designed to address the unique needs of teenage girls aged 16-17.
Adolescent Girls Programme
16-17 age of the girls in our Adolescent Girls Programme
3,000 we need your help to enrol 3,000 teenage girls by the end of 2025
119 million girls are not in school worldwide
Source: UNICEF
Working with teenage girls
Supporting the Next Generation of Daring Women Leaders
Around the world, brave women are driving meaningful and lasting change.
They are daring to disrupt gender-based violence in their communities, becoming leaders in male-dominated societies, and fighting for their rights to own land and earn a living. Through our programmes, women are gaining financial independence, decision-making power, and forging bonds of sisterhood with their classmates.
At Women for Women International, we are proud of the success of our training programmes, shaped by the women we serve. That’s why we are excited to announce the expansion of our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme to serve teenage girls in conflict-affected countries.
Help us reach 3,000 teenage girls by the end of 2025. With the #SheDares Matching Gift Challenge, every donation will be DOUBLED at no extra cost to you until 21st November.
Who We Are Working With
Our programme is tailored to girls aged 16-17 who:
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Face extreme socio-economic hardship
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Have discontinued their education or never had the opportunity to enrol
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Are married, separated, widowed, or divorced
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Are young heads of households
Our Comprehensive Curriculum
A holistic approach
The programme focuses on four key outcomes:
Gender equality and rights awareness: Helping girls understand their rights and challenge harmful cultural norms.
Health and wellness: Including sexual and reproductive health education, an area where adolescent girls are often denied access.
Financial literacy and vocational skills: Supporting girls to become economically independent through practical training in skills like entrepreneurship and trades.
Safety and goal setting: Providing tools to build self-confidence and create future plans, ensuring they can lead lives of dignity and choice.
The programme equips girls with essential life skills, boosts their self-confidence and prepares them for economic independence.
A rights-based and survivor-centred approach
Recognising the unique challenges of working with teen girls, we adopt a rights-based and survivor-centred approach. Our global safeguarding policies and specialised staff training ensure the safety of every girl in our programme. We work with experts and adapt our strategies to local contexts, starting with our pilot programme in Rwanda, to create lasting change in these young people’s lives.
Why focus on teenage girls?
Adolescence is a crucial time of physical, emotional, and social change. Sadly, many adolescent girls, especially in conflict-affected regions, face extreme poverty, gender-based violence, and limited access to education.
We’ve adapted our signature Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme to address the unique challenges teen girls face, offering them the knowledge, skills, and support to take charge of their futures. Early intervention is key to breaking the cycle of poverty and inequality, and adolescence is the ideal moment to provide this life-changing support.
Stories
Josephine
subtitle:
"I dare to fulfil my dreams despite being a teenage mother." After being sexually abused by a family friend, Josephine became pregnant and had to drop out of school at just 15 years old. Completing Women for Women International Rwanda's Adolescent Girls Programme helped her improve her life. She's now planning on working as a hairdresser and saving money to return to school.
Harir
subtitle:
"I dare to keep learning despite being banned from education." Harir, an Afghan girl, always dreamt of becoming a doctor despite growing up in a financially struggling family. Her determination strengthened after earning top marks in school, but the Taliban's takeover in 2021 crushed her access to education. Despite being rejected from a midwifery course and battling depression, she continues to secretly study English and medicine.
Nerat
subtitle:
"I dare to take control of my future." Nerat was abducted and forced into early marriage. Aged just 14, she had to leave school and focus on being a wife, taking care of her household and eventually caring for a baby. Joining our Adolescent Girls Programme is a ray of hope for a brighter future.
Help enrol 3,000 teenage girls
Help us achieve our goal of reaching 3,000 teenage girls in conflict-affected countries by the end of 2025 with our new Adolescent Girls Programme.
With the #SheDares Matching Gift Challenge, every donation will be DOUBLED at no extra cost to you until 21st November.
Josephine’s Story
Meet Josephine from Rwanda who joined our programme at age 17
Despite significant challenges as a teenage mother, Josephine's determination is truly inspiring.
“When my parents separated, life became very hard. I withdrew from friends and stopped enjoying things I loved. At 15, after being abused by a family friend, I became pregnant and had to drop out of school. My dream of becoming a police officer seemed lost.
Joining Women for Women Rwanda’s new programme in 2023 was life-changing. Initially nervous, I gained confidence and learned valuable skills in entrepreneurship and hairdressing. I also learned about my rights and made supportive friends.
I graduated in July 2024 and am now working as a hairdresser, with hopes to return to school and achieve my dream of joining the police force.
I’m proud of my progress and want to teach my daughter to dream big and persevere. From the shadows of solitude, I emerged, strengthened by support and fuelled by the promise of a brighter future.
Our Programmes
Men's Engagement Programme
subtitle:
In order to help women to break through the stereotypes that limit their opportunities, we work with men to challenge discrimination and help them become allies in the fight for gender equality. Since 2002, we have worked with over 52,809 men through our Men's Engagement Programme.
Conflict Response Fund
subtitle: In 2018, we launched a new conflict response fund — a separate funding pool to more rapidly help women who are caught in the current horrors of our time. To reach women in their most critical moments, we work with partners who can respond to conflict and
In 2018, we launched a new conflict response fund — a separate funding pool to more rapidly help women who are caught in the current horrors of our time. To reach women in their most critical moments, we work with partners who can respond to conflict and make an immediate impact.
Our programmes
subtitle:
Participants in our year-long programme work to strengthen themselves across four critical areas of social and economic empowerment.