In this business of improving women and girl's lives through public health and economic empowerment, there are frankly many discouraging days. The news is not always positive, in fact, at times it can be down right awful. So, when we have an unabashed victory like this one, we need to spread the joy and shout it out from the rooftops.
Not one of these sassy, smart, creative and fun girls was pregnant at the end of the school year! In fact, in this entire school, not one girl ended the term pregnant. The Principal of the school- where our amazing Sonia led the very popular SGUW Adolescent Health Class- boasted that the girls sat for end of year exams and NOT ONE was PREGNANT! NOT ONE!! He could not remember another year where that happened and he praised the care and commitment of the SGUW team as the reason for this great outcome.
This class of girls was the oldest group we taught last year and because of their age, we knew they were particularly vulnerable to teenage pregnancy, early marriage and forms of gender based violence and exploitation. They are students who leave their classrooms to face very difficult economic circumstances and real risks of violence and exploitation daily. We are thrilled to announce nobody was pregnant at the end of the school year. And, stay tuned for an upcoming announcement to further our SGUW connection and support for these girls as they venture forward into their next phase of life.