Let Girls Thrive

Young girls represent the window of hope for a gender justice society. Child marriages and period poverty are the major problems affecting girls living in the rural and marginalized areas of Zimbabwe today. Through the support of our global organisation Teach For All, Teach For Zimbabwe got a grant to support girls education. These young girls are also faced with a myriad of challenges, including poor menstrual hygiene and harmful cultural and religious practices that are pushing them to the marginal ends of the society. According to the Girls Not Brides, about 34% of girls get married before they reach the age of 18 in Zimbabwe.
The Let Girls Thrive project is being done in Binga, Chiredzi and Mutoko with 30 schools benefiting from the project (10 in each district). The activities include offering support with menstrual health, detergent making, drink making, guidance and counselling and linking the girls to relevant local stakeholders. Problems like period pain and lack of clean sanitary wear keeps them out ouf school on average of 3 days per month. Poor menstrual hygiene exposes them to virgainal infections, thereby leading to devastating reproductive problems.

Teach for Zimbabwe belives in the natural potential vested in young girls to be the masters of their own destiny, we therefore train them to protect their own rights and as well promote the rights of other girls and make their own hygiene kits to cushion themselves from period poverty.