Project Status:
In Implementation
Project Location:
Clinetown, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Duration:
Juli 2025 – Juli 2026
Focus Areas:
- Quality Education (SDG4)
- Gender Equality (SDG 5)
Target Groups:
- 70 girls in the mentoring program
- 200 children in the vacation program
- Parents/guardians
Project Objectives:
- Strengthen school loyalty and regular school attendance of girls (9-12 years)
- Promote girls’ self-efficacy and psychosocial resilience
- Reduce gender-specific educational disadvantages
Dropping Out of School at a Critical Age
In Clinetown, a district of Freetown in Sierra Leone, poverty, educational disadvantage and gender inequality are increasing. Many families live below the poverty line with insecure incomes and no social security. Girls between the ages of 9 and 12 are particularly at risk of dropping out of school. This is due to family responsibilities, a lack of hygiene products and sanitary facilities during menstruation or a general lack of support. The risk of early pregnancies also increases at this age.
The chronically overburdened education system exacerbates the situation: there is a lack of teachers, equipment and support. Around a quarter of primary school children are regularly absent, and almost half of young people are not enrolled in school.
Targeted support for girls goes far beyond individual schoolgirls. With school support, health knowledge, psychosocial support and parental work, the project ensures school attendance and strengthens families and communities in the long term.
How Save Girls Education Works
In order to respond specifically to the existing educational barriers in Clinetown, the Save Girls Education project combines concrete support on three levels: individual, family and school. The project relies on local structures, low-threshold measures and clear criteria for the selection of participating girls. The project is implemented through three coordinated measures:
- Mentoring program:
Over a period of six months, local mentors accompany girls to monthly workshops. Workshop topics include education, women’s health, self-determination and planning for the future. In addition, the participants receive school materials and hygiene products to reduce barriers to regular school attendance.
- Family education scholarships:
The families of 70 participating girls receive financial support of 10 Euros per trimester on the condition that their daughters attend school regularly and take part in the workshops. In this way, education is also strengthened in the family environment.
- Summer school for over 200 children:
In a two-month vacation program, learning deficits in reading, writing and mathematics are addressed.
The project is implemented by our local partner team in close cooperation with teachers, parents and mentors. The measures are designed in such a way that they not only have an immediate impact but can also create long-term changes in the girls’ social environment.
We measure the impact of the project using clear indicators and make them visible here step by step.
