This project aims to address the persistent gender gap and exclusion of girls and women from education systems in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, especially in communities with refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). Such exclusion denies girls access to employment, economic and societal engagement. The project’s goal is to develop children’s skills and agency; support them to overcome barriers in their education; and make positive choices in their lives. The project is adapting an initiative called “Tuseme” (“let’s speak out” in Swahili), an empowerment process that has been demonstrated to enhance girl’s self-esteem, leadership, social and life skills and promote a positive attitude amongst boys towards girl’s education.

The project is developing a revised Tuseme model that can be deployed in refugee and IDP camps. The project’s mixed-methodology, co-created with beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders, explores different combinations of the Tuseme model with two other successful innovations developed by the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE) (Gender-sensitive schools and Gender-responsive pedagogy).

Project objectives include: 1) Investigating how the model empowers internally displaced and refugee children 2) Adapting the model based on findings and strengthening the capacity of Tuseme providers 3) Exploring how the model could be scaled to other refugee and IDP settings. Expected outcomes include a robust understanding of Tuseme Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) enabling factors and improved curriculum within refugee and IDP settings. These outcomes will benefit girls, trainers, and communities in and around refugee camps as well as researchers and policy makers.